


Rosebud

by jimvalmers



Category: South Park
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Falling In Love, First Love, Fluff, Humor, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, POV Third Person
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-12
Updated: 2019-07-20
Packaged: 2019-11-16 07:22:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 37,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18089936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jimvalmers/pseuds/jimvalmers
Summary: Two young lovers' relationship began as a rosebud encased in ice, but slowly over time, blossom into a rose.A story on how Tweek and Craig's relationship grows over the years.





	1. You, me, and a PS4

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to my lovely editor and beta reader tweeksqueak!! <3 pls send them a follow!  
> https://tweeksqueak.tumblr.com/
> 
> Hello! This is my first fanfiction, and I'm really excited to finally post this! This fic begins in South Park season 19 and follows Tweek and Craig's perspectives throughout the seasons, as well as their relationship.
> 
> If you aren't already, get caught up to season 19, as we start in episode 6! Enjoy!
> 
> My tumblr: https://jimvalmers.tumblr.com/

It was as if the world only consisted of the two of them.

Tweek ignored the passersbys who had no shame in staring at them, staring at their hands, which were intertwined. Instead, he kept his eyes forward. Craig’s grip was tight as he walked in front of him, but Tweek had no idea why.

Was he nervous?

The two were walking down a familiar street, one Tweek knew was just north of their school. Tweek tried to keep up with Craig’s long strides, sneaking a glance at Craig every few seconds. He had a question on his tongue but didn’t know if he should break the silence. He tensed up when Craig turned his head towards him. Craig looked at him with an attentive expression, as if he knew Tweek was dying to ask him something.

“Where are we going, Craig?”

Tweek bit his lip nervously, unsure where the two even stood, relationship-wise, at the moment. Before today, the two were actively avoiding each other. He still hadn’t moved on from Craig’s rejection, but he wasn’t going to bother him about it. But now… What changed his mind? The whole situation felt awkward, almost scary, and he could feel his heart beating faster than normal. ‘Does this mean… Craig likes me back?’ Tweek wondered. He snapped out of his thoughts when Craig clicked his tongue.

“Honestly… I’m not really sure.” Craig scratched his cheek. “I… I’m trying to think of a place where we can be alone,” he admitted. “It’s just so uncomfortable with all those people staring at us… But I still feel awkward going back to my own place.”

Tweek nibbled his lip as he thought up an idea. “How about we go to my place? My parents are usually at the shop during this time. O-oh! And I got the new _Assassin’s Creed_ game! If… you like that series...” Tweek trailed off as Craig looked at him with wide eyes.

“Oh, for real, dude? I’m not even getting it ‘til Christmas. Come on, let’s go to your place then.”

Tweek had never seen Craig give such a genuine smile before, and the sight of it made his heart beat even faster. He gave a nod, smiling as well. The two continued their slow pace down towards Tweek’s house, more comfortable now in each other's company.

* * *

 

“Oh Jesus, how the hell did you do that?!”

“I’m literally a master at this game, dude. Watch and learn.”

“You’re just taking advantage of how glitchy this fucking game is!”

Tweek laughed as he fell back against the couch, his snack bag dropping to the floor. Craig chuckled, glancing at Tweek before going back to the game. For the hour they’d been hanging out, it had felt like everything between them was normal. But Tweek knew there was something else, an elephant in the room.

Their relationship.

Tweek sat up, looking towards Craig with a worried expression. Craig glanced at him again, pausing the game and dropping the controller to his side. He turned towards Tweek, sighing as he lifted his chullo, running his fingers through his hair.

“I… I think we should talk about us.”

Craig nodded slowly, watching Tweek pick at his hangnails.

“I’m really… not good at words at all. But... I hope what I did out there kind of… explains how I feel now,” Craig started, chewing on his bottom lip. “I never would’ve thought I was... gay. I went my whole life thinking I liked girls, but...”

Craig looked over at Tweek, reaching out for his hand. Almost immediately, Tweek clasped their hands together, giving Craig a small smile.

“Tweek. I think I can safely say that I’m gay,” Craig said, smirking when Tweek giggled. He continued, “and I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pushed you away the other day. I was just… so confused. I needed some time to think over it. But… I hope we can get back together. For real this time.”

Tweek’s smile grew as his grip on Craig’s hands tightened. “Oh my god! Wait, are you serious?”

Craig laughed under his breath, leaning closer towards Tweek. “I’m serious, dude.”

“A-and, you really like me?!”

“Yes, dude. I’m–” Craig was cut off when Tweek jumped him, arms going around his neck in a hug so tight they both toppled back against the couch from the force of it. “You can warn a guy, you know,” Craig wheezed. Tweek unlatched from Craig with cheeks burning red from embarrassment. “I’m taking that as yes to being boyfriends?”

“ _GAH_! I’m so sorry Craig- I just- I mean- I got so overwhelmed by what you said!” Tweek said as he jittered, pulling on his shirt sleeves. He couldn’t believe it at all! Craig actually liked him back! But… what made him change his mind so suddenly?

“Tweek, I still haven’t gotten an answer…”

Tweek shook his head, brushing aside his negative thoughts. 

“Oh Jesus! I’m sorry, this is all still… Yes! Craig, I want to be - _nngh-_ boyfriends with you too!”

Craig chuckled, spreading his arms and leaning closer to Tweek. Tweek perked up and fell into Craig’s arms, face buried into his jacket. He felt a hand against his back as Craig pulled him in closer, and a slight pressure against the top of his head; presumably Craig’s own head. Tweek felt so comfortable and safe in his arm, relaxing once Craig began to rub his back. He closed his eyes slowly, cheeks warming up.

He never felt so… cared for like this. After all the things that have been happening this month, this is all he wanted. Someone to just… make him feel like everything was alright.

And that someone was Craig.

Then, as if the universe wanted to fuck them over–

“Tweek, we’re back home with– Oh, Helen, look! It’s Craig and our little Tweek! It looks like they made up!”

“ _Aww_ , how sweet! I wish I had a camera on me.”

Tweek yelped loudly, pushing himself off his boyfriend and twitching. “ _Mom? Dad?_ Y-You usually text be-before–“

“Tweek, you know better. You shouldn’t allow people into our home without us knowing.” Richard crossed his arms as he scolded his son. “Especially your boyfriend! We can’t be risking our son losing his virginity so young!”

_“W-What?!”_

“Your father's right, Tweek. But we’re still so proud of the two of you!”

“Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Tweak.”

_“GAAAAAAH!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How did you like it? Thank you for reading!  
> All feedback is appreciated and welcome!


	2. Let's start a new day together!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the eyes of everyone in the town of South Park, the famous gay couple is finally back together.
> 
> For Tweek, the pressure of being in his first relationship is almost too much. 
> 
> ‘Craig must really like me then… right?’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to my lovely editor and beta reader tweeksqueak!! <3 pls send them a follow!  
> https://tweeksqueak.tumblr.com/
> 
> Hello! This is my first fanfiction, and I'm really excited to finally post this! This fic begins in South Park season 19 and follows Tweek and Craig's perspectives throughout the seasons, as well as their relationship.
> 
> My tumblr: https://jimvalmers.tumblr.com/

Tweek waited outside the entrance of the school, gripping his backpack. This was the first day of school that Craig and Tweek would be officially walking around like a couple and it made Tweek so,  _so_ paranoid. Even though everyone in the town seemed overjoyed that the two were finally back together, he still wondered how they would be treated by the other kids. It’s not like he thought they were going to get bullied – Craig would probably kick their ass. But… the stares and the comments that they might get…

“ _Gnnnh_ … Maybe I shouldn’t have drunk all that coffee earlier…” he groaned under his breath.

“Tweek.”

Tweek yelped, snapping out of his thoughts as he looked up. He saw Craig walking towards him from the bus stop. Before he could greet Craig, Tweek immediately felt the pressure of every kid in front of the school staring at them. It was almost too much.

“Hey, are you okay? You look like you’re about to throw up,” Craig asked. His voice sounded as monotone as ever, but Tweek could hear the concern in his tone.

Tweek felt his eye twitch as he answered, “I-I’m fine!  _Nnnngh…_  Can we go inside?!”

“Sure.” Craig reached out for Tweek’s hand, a small sign of comfort that Tweek was for grateful for. He smiled awkwardly, taking Craig’s hand, flinching when the other students cooed and whispered to each other at the sight.

“Take a deep breath, there will probably be more of that today,” Craig muttered towards Tweek as he opened the door to the school hallway for him. Tweek groaned, “Oh, God…” under his breath, but followed Craig inside.

It was even worse as they walked down the hallways, everyone turning to look at them. Some expressions were overjoyed, while some seemed confused or shocked. He definitely noticed an Asian girl snap a picture of the two. Tweek turned his head to look forward, but when he did, he saw Kyle and Stan staring at them with mouths agape. He gripped Craig’s hand tighter as he looked away, and felt Craig tighten his grip as well.

They finally reached the hallway with Craig’s locker, and thankfully, it wasn’t crowded by openly staring students.

“That... was terrible,” Tweek admitted with a groan. Craig snickered, letting go of Tweek’s hand to open his locker. “I should probably go to class before I’m late.  _Ack!_ ”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?”

“I-it’s fine! I can handle it!”

Craig raised an eyebrow at him. Tweek tug his shirt nervously and looked away from Craig's gaze. 

“Oh, okay. I’ll see you during lunch, right?”

Tweek made a small yelp, nodding furiously. “Yes! I’ll see you later!  _GAH!_ ” Tweek yelled out, scurrying away from Craig.

* * *

Tweek turned the dial on his locker, jumping at the sound of the warning bell. He didn’t know how he was going to deal with all the pressure today. Of course, Craig had offered to come with him, but it would’ve been so much worse if he did. Tweek hated how he acted all nervous around him, but he couldn’t help it! Everyone’s eyes were on them at all times, and it was still uncanny having Craig be so… sweet with him. The tone of Craig’s voice when he spoke to him… Tweek cupped his cheek with his hand, smiling nervously.

‘Craig must really like me then… right?’

Tweek felt someone's hand on his shoulder and screamed. He spun around quickly, staring wide-eyed at whoever was behind him.

“Tweek! It’s just me!” Wendy recoiled from the scream, arms tightening around her purple binder. She looked annoyed. Oh God, was she already pissed at him?

“Wendy!  _Arrrgh…_ I’m sorry… Wh-what’s wrong?!” Tweek yelled as his heart jack-hammered in his chest. Wendy furrowed her eyebrows.

“Is it true that you’re back together with Craig?” she asked. Tweek twitched, looking around nervously before nodding. Wendy gasped. “After what he’s done to you?”

Shit. He had completely forgotten about the cheating accusation. It was... just so hard reminding himself about that whole incident because how ashamed he was of it. And...

That day Tweek realized he actually liked Craig. 

And he thought he fucked it all up.

* * *

_Tweek wiped the tears in his eyes as he shoved open the front doors of the school. He took a deep breath, grinning earnestly as he walked down the street._

_‘I did it! I actually acted in front of the whole school!’ Tweek thought, holding himself higher in pride. ‘That was so believable, I even started crying! I can’t wait to see Craig… Oh God, will he even want to speak to me after this?’_

_“Tweek!”_

_Tweek was snapped out of his thoughts, turning around. He saw Wendy run towards him. Tweek let her catch up to him._

_“Tweek, oh my God! Are you okay? What Craig did to you was so awful! I can’t believe that_ _–_ _that cheating asshole_ _!_ _” Wendy said, gritting her teeth._

_Tweek groaned, realizing that he had to actually continue his act. “I’m fine, Wendy…”_

_Wendy grabbed Tweek’s hands, making him yell out. “Don’t lie to me Tweek, it’s clear that you’re hurting from this. Having your heart broken by someone you love…  Trust me, I understand that feeling.” Tweek flushed at the thought._

_‘Do I.... like Craig?’_

_She let go of his hands, grabbing her phone and going into the contacts list before handing it to him. Tweek flinched, grabbing the phone slowly. “Put your number in and I’ll text you back. If you ever need my opinion on something, you can message me anytime. Really, I’m on my phone all day.”_

_“Uh… sure?” Tweek’s voice quivered as he typed in his number, having to retype it a few times to get it correctly. “But Wendy…”_

_Wendy cut him off. "It's the least I can do. It's just so that you know I'm here for you," she said, smiling at him, the dimples showing on her cheeks. Astonished,_ _Tweek watched her turn and walk away._

_He felt a buzz in his back pocket after Wendy had left, and took out his phone and to see a text from an unknown number._

_Unknown: Hey Tweek! Let’s be besties!!_ 😊

_“Oh, Christ…”_

* * *

Tweek grit his teeth, grabbing his notebooks for his first class. “Wendy, that’s in the past now. He apologized, and we got back together.” Technically, he wasn’t lying, since Craig did apologize!

They began walking down the hallway together, and he braced for whatever she would say. He doesn't know a lot about girls, but he did  _not_  like that look on her face. It made his shoulders tense.

'Oh shit, can Wendy sense that I'm lying? Wait, can she read my thoughts?!'

She finally spoke, “I still don’t trust him.  _At all._  He didn’t even come to your locker with you!”

Tweek sighed, relaxing his shoulders and rolling his eyes. Okay, it seems like girls don't actually read minds – or maybe they learn it when they get older.

Tweek brushed aside the thought and turned towards her. “Wendy, I told him not to. We don’t need to be next to each other all the time.”

Wendy grunted, a pout on her face. “Well… even so…. He should be trying harder! After he did something so… _Ugh!”_   Tweek bit his lip to suppress a giggle at Wendy’s reaction. It reminded him of the all caps-locked texts she had sent to him when she’d been angry.

“Things are different this time around, Wendy. I promise.” Tweek smiled as Wendy’s pout got even… poutier. “I’m still so nervous though! _Ack,_ this is the first time we’ve ever got to be… public about our relationship. But I want to try my best for him.”

Wendy perked up from that and nudged him slightly. “ _Awww_ … Craig is literally so lucky to have someone _so_ in love with him,” she giggled innocently as Tweek’s cheeks heated up, making him stop dead at his tracks. “If he ever hurts you, I swear to God-”

“L-love?! Oh god, it’s _way_  too early for that!  _Gah_!” he cried out, interrupting her. Why would she say that? Did she want him to have a heart attack?!

Wendy only hummed and gave Tweek a wide smile. “Bye, Tweek! Text me after class!” Wendy waved goodbye as she ran off to her classroom, leaving Tweek to tremble and twitch where he stood.

Tweek shook his head, groaning under his breath. Wendy was just… teasing him! Right? Ugh! He’d never be able to understand how girls work! It was just way too much pressure!

* * *

Tweek sat down at his desk, his hands twitching as he opened his notebook to a fresh page. He was glad the class he was transferred to wasn’t as rowdy as his last one. He could actually concentrate on the teacher and not have to worry about whatever bullshit Cartman and his friends would pull next.

He noticed someone stopping by his desk. There stood Leslie, who was smiling.

 _“Nghhh…_ Hello, Leslie. D-do you need something…?” Tweek asked, feeling a little uncomfortable under her gaze.

“I just wanted to tell you that I’m glad that you’re back together with Craig. The townspeople were so heartbroken when you two split up,” Leslie said in a calm tone. “I’m sure you two will be much happier now.”

Tweek scratched the back of his head. “Uh…. Thank you?” Leslie nodded with a smile, as if that was the correct response and headed to her seat near the back of the room.

Tweek looked into his notebook, trying to shake off the unsettling feeling he had gotten from that exchange. Instead, he tried to think of happy thoughts to make himself feel better. 

'Don't forget Tweek, Craig's waiting for you after class!'

His cheeks warmed up at the thought. Sitting next to Craig during lunch...

At least he had something to look forward to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the sweet comments on my first chapter!!! I'm so happy to go through this with you guys ;_;  
> Tweek, hes kind of a Craig fanboy isn't he? GAAAH DONT BE INSECURE MY SON!!!!!  
> All feedback is appreciated and welcome!


	3. I have you, is that enough?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Inner conflicts arise, and Tweek and Craig are forced to deal with them, together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to my lovely editor and beta reader tweeksqueak!! <3 pls send them a follow!  
> https://tweeksqueak.tumblr.com/
> 
> Hello! This is my first fanfiction, and I'm really excited to finally post this! This fic begins in South Park season 19 and follows Tweek and Craig's perspectives throughout the seasons, as well as their relationship.
> 
> My tumblr: https://jimvalmers.tumblr.com/

It had been a couple of days since the two had officially gotten together.

Tweek had gotten somewhat used to the stares and the compliments about his and Craig’s relationship. He couldn't say everything was perfect, though. He still felt a little awkward with Craig, unsure if their feelings were truly the same, and the other guys weren’t really used to them being a couple yet.

When he asked for advice, Wendy had told him not to worry about the other guys, that they'll come around soon enough. Apparently, Stan had asked a lot of questions about being gay, and that's her evidence...

Tweek didn’t get it. He felt like a captive zoo animal, always being questioned or stared at! It wasn't like his personality had changed or anything! Or Craig! They were still the same Tweek and Craig, just… gay now? Well, openly gay at least.

Anyway, the town was acting pretty weird. Maybe it was the new PC culture that Tweek wasn’t used to it yet. But, ever since they walked down the hallways hand in hand, they were put on a pedestal by the principal and their counselor – who before Craig had to be sent to almost every week for flicking off teachers.

They were also handed drawings from the Asian girls, whose obsession with them hadn’t changed. Yeah, they were still allowed to plaster art of them all over the school, and the number of drawings had grown significantly since they got back together. Tweek wasn’t as uncomfortable looking at the art as before, but it was still really weird.

Well, this was South Park, and each and every week weirder things tended to happen.

Just the other day, the whole school was forced into another morning assembly, where everyone saw Officer Barbrady shoot some kindergartener. At least that meant that the assembly ended early and they didn’t have to sit and listen to PC Principal for an hour straight.

The loud rings of the school bell droned in Tweek’s ears as he closed his locker door, turning around to see Craig walking towards him.

“Hey, dude,“ Craig greeted him, smirking slightly. On instinct, both reached out to hold hands, walking together down the school hallways. “You wanna hang out at my place again? Or yours?”

Tweek smiled and nervously brushed his hair behind his ear. Oh, Christ, he doesn't think he could ever get used to that smile. “Can we hang out at yours again? It’s more comfortable over there.”

Craig scoffed. “Even with Tricia annoying the hell out of us?”

“Oh come on, Craig. You’re the only one who finds her annoying!” Tweek giggled as Craig rolled his eyes.

The two heard loud laughing from Jimmy, Clyde, and Token who were talking by their lockers. Craig looked over at Tweek, tilting his head to indicate they should walk over to them.

“I think we should all get different color armbands so we all know who's who, you guys get me?”

“Clyde, I think yo-your huge belly is a-al-already a dead give away.”

Clyde whined loudly as Jimmy and Token laughed at him, looking at them in disbelief.

“Hey, jerks. What are you guys talking about?”

Craig and Tweek walked up behind the three, making them all turn towards them. Tweek flinched when they all looked at him with blank expressions. ‘Why does it feel like the tone completely shifted because of us?!’

“Oh hey,” Clyde was the first to speak He lifted his hands to finger-bang at them. “Love birds.” 

Craig stomped a foot towards Clyde, making him flinch back and yelp, raising his arms to defend himself. 

“W-we were just talking about Kenny’s super cool ninja base!” Jimmy explained.

Craig perked up at that, stepping back. “Sweet. Can we join?”

Clyde visibly tensed, looking back at Jimmy and Token. Jimmy stood silent, glancing at Token, whose eyebrows were furrowed.

“I don’t think you guys should join us,” Token said.

Tweek twitched, feeling Craig’s grip on his hand tighten as Craig spoke. “Why the hell not?”

Token kept his posture straight, while Clyde and Jimmy looked away awkwardly. “Look, the only reason we’re playing ninjas is to get homeless people away from Kenny’s place,” Token said, crossing his arms. “If you two were there… you’d just bring more attention.”

Tweek grabbed at his shirt, pulling at it. “What?! _Nghh_ … Wouldn’t we be in costume anyway?”

Tweek watched Token’s eyes flicker over to him, then back to Craig.

“Uhh... Don’t take it personally… But...” Token started, voice wavering slightly. “I… I don’t think I’m comfortable with you guys being there.”

Everyone fell silent at Token’s words. Everyone but Craig, who pressured Token even more.

“ _Why?_ What the fuck is wrong with us _?”_

“I-I don’t understand why you two are gay now!”

Tweek flinched when Token yelled at the two. His lip quivered as he looked down at his shoes, his grip on Craig’s hand weakening. Token’s shoulders slumped, his lips moving in a way that made it seem like he was about to speak, but didn’t know what to say.

The group was silent for a moment, the tension so thick you could cut it with a knife. Tweek had to bite his bottom lip just so he wouldn't make any noises.

Craig, however, kept his posture, and said, “You know what? It doesn’t even matter, me and Tweek have plans anyway.” Craig began to turn away from the group, only looking back to say one more thing: “Have fun with your little ninja club, dipshits.”

He tugged at Tweek's arm to make him walk away from the three. Tweek turned to follow him, only glancing back one to catch Token's expression morph to one of guilt.

* * *

 

‘Craig’s closest friends…they really pushed us away because we are gay?’

Tweek stared blankly into the ceiling of Craig’s room, trying to understand everything that had happened. He knew that blaming himself wouldn’t help anyone. But… he still felt so guilty for what had happened. 

“I’m back.”

Tweek turned his head towards Craig, watching him close the door slowly. He walked to the bed, sighing as he sat on its side.

“So…” Craig began but trailed off. He took off his chullo and placed it to his side, then ran his fingers through his hair. It was apparent that he felt the same way as Tweek at the moment. “Are you okay?”

Tweek frowned at Craig, sitting up on the bed. “I feel like I should be asking you that,” Tweek said, to which Craig immediately replied, “I’m _fine_.”

“Craig…” Tweek hugged his legs, his eyebrows knitting together. “Are you sure?”

“Tweek, why would I want to hang out with those guys if they don’t even want me there? Fuck that.” Craig faced Tweek, hands balled up into fists. “It doesn’t matter.”

Tweek pursed his lips, trying to think of what to say. If he was being honest, he wasn’t sure what was the best thing to say at the moment.

“I think it matters,” Tweek said slowly. “They are your friends. And… for them to push you away… because… because you’re dating me…” Tweek hugged his legs closer to himself, biting his lip, trying to stop himself from tearing up.

Craig sighed under his breath and moved closer to him. “Hey, don’t blame yourself for this,” he said in a soft-spoken tone.

Tweek let go of his legs to tangle his fingers in his hair. “I-I’m not! I just– I don’t want to see this happen to you,” Tweek said, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath to compose himself. He couldn’t help raising his voice when he got emotional, especially while Craig looked at him like  _that_. “What if somebody said that to us again? O-or does something to us?! Because we’re gay! I-It makes me… scared.” He groaned as he tugged at his hair, trembling slightly.

Tweek opened his eyes slowly when he felt Craig put his hands over his own, gently pulling them off his hair. They laced their fingers together, Craig brushing his thumb over Tweek’s knuckles. Tweek looked into Craig’s sharp eyes, breath hitching as he saw his expression, no longer apathetic, but now full of emotion.

“I’m scared too,” Craig said quietly for only Tweek to hear, leaning towards him. “But I would never leave you like that. Even if it scared the living shit out of me.”

His words, although blunt, made Tweek smile softly. It was so Craig, which made it perfect. He relaxed almost immediately and saw a smile mirrored on Craig's face.

As if on cue, the door to Craig’s room opened, and Tricia walked with her hands on her hips.

“Oooh, Craig. Dad said to keep the door open when Tweek is over!”

Tweek froze up as Craig whipped around to face the girl. “Goddammit it, Tricia, get the fuck out of my room!” he yelled, letting go of Tweek’s hands.

Tricia’s eyes widened in realization and gasped. “Oh my God, were you two about to _kiss?_ I’m telling dad!” she yelled back as she ran out of the door, banging it behind her.

Craig’s cheeks turned red. He jumped off the bed and tripped over his feet as he threw open the door so fast it hit the wall. “Tricia, I swear to fucking GOD!”

Tweek heard screams downstairs and the voice of Craig’s father yelling at the siblings about “banging the damn doors”. In his cage, Stripe could be heard scurrying around in panic from all the commotion. Tweek fell back against the bed covering his face in embarrassment.

He would prefer it if the weird things that happened in South Park didn’t happen to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! How was this? Pls no hate on Token... he's just a confused kid! ;_; 
> 
> All feedback is appreciated and welcome!


	4. A moment of peace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A break from reality for a moment of Tweek's thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to my lovely editor and beta reader tweeksqueak!! <3 pls send them a follow!  
> https://tweeksqueak.tumblr.com/
> 
> Hello! This is my first fanfiction, and I'm really excited to finally post this! This fic begins in South Park season 19 and follows Tweek and Craig's perspectives throughout the seasons, as well as their relationship.
> 
> My Tumblr: https://jimvalmers.tumblr.com/

That twisted feeling in his gut was back. It was the same as the one he got when Wendy talked to him about Craig. The one he felt when Craig told him to leave him alone. The one he felt when Craig held his hand for the first time.

Now, Tweek felt it every time he thought back to that afternoon at Craig’s place. It was… a strange feeling. It was like, all his happiness and paranoia clashing against each other in his chest, coiling around each other when he remembered Craig’s words.

Craig… Did he really feel the same way as him? That couldn’t be true! Craig was… well, Craig! He seemed to go through life like he wasn't worried about anything. And Tweek was worried about everything! God, he used to stay up all night worrying over his friends and his parents turning their backs on him all because… he was gay.

When the town — those Asian girls more specifically — outed him, his anxiety was through the roof! He thought he was done for! He thought he was going to have to move out, get another identity, file off his fingerprints - in case something goes  _horribly_  wrong.

But… Craig said himself he’d be by his side when things do go horribly wrong! Tweek should be calm, right? Craig is like, one of the strongest fourth graders he's ever known! He wanted to listen to Craig's words, but…

Tweek was worried that not even Craig could stop him from being so paranoid and overthinking the consequences of what could happen.

Well, Tweek tried to push down all those feelings, to ignore that churning in his stomach — maybe tricking himself that it's just gas! — and focus on reality. The last thing he wanted to do was mess things up with Craig.

As the days passed, Craig still wasn’t comfortable hanging out with the other guys just yet. To be honest, Tweek wasn’t comfortable either! Imagine if they actually went up to them after what happened! ‘Oh Jesus, what if we went over to sit at their lunch table, and they all just stared at us? Staring until their gazes turn hot, hot like lava, melting us down into puddles! _I’m too young to die like that!’_

Thankfully, they avoided that from ever happening. Tweek wasn’t really a fan of confrontation, especially since he was not in the best state of mind at the moment. Instead, he and Craig sat together at a separate lunch table, played on the swing set together at recess, and even walked home together when school ended, jumping over homeless people who were sleeping on the streets.

After a while, they weren’t allowed to walk home alone or hang out at each other's houses due to the rising population of homeless around town. Whatever Kenny and the other guys were doing, they were bringing all the homeless into the streets, some even reaching the sidewalks of the school.

As Craig’s mom stated, “They could force you to give away all of your spare change!” — whatever that meant. Tweek was more scared that one of them would attack him, or something!

It was a little annoying that they had less time to spend together, but Tweek didn’t mind since they could voice call instead. 

Tweek felt himself get a little giddy with happiness when he saw Craig's messages telling him to call him. They actually gave him a sense of comfort, that Craig wanted to talk to him, wanted to hear what he had to say. He always worried he was talking too much, but Craig never complained about it.

In the back of his mind, he hoped it was because Craig liked listening to him.

* * *

 

“My dad’s actually cleaning up the old grill outside, you know. He said he wants to make a barbeque for the family, but I know it's because he’s too scared to go to Whole Foods with all the homeless around. I can’t believe what Kenny and those shitheads are doing.”

Tweek snorted, looking up from his LEGO manual to his computer screen.

“Yeah, my dad is acting super paranoid about all the homeless people too. This whole week he hasn't opened up shop, passing it off as a 'week vacation.'" Tweek made air quotes in the air as he finished his sentence and huffed. " _Gah!_ I know you're fucking lying! _Gnnh..._ at least I haven’t been forced to pick up his packages near Kenny’s house since then.”

“Even if you were, I wouldn’t let you go there anyway,” Craig snickered, making Tweek roll his eyes and stick his tongue out at him.

“Now you sound bitter that they left us out.”

“I am not. Either way, samurais are way cooler than ninjas, so I wouldn't have gone if they asked me too,” Craig replied, making Tweek tremble from laughter.

“Oh my god, you’re such a dork!” Tweek exclaimed, making Craig laugh as well.

In the midst of their laughter, Tweek heard chirps and whistles coming from Craig’s side. Craig must’ve heard it too, as he turned around.

“I think you woke up Stripe,” Craig said, causing Tweek to pout.

“ _Me?_ You were laughing too!”

“Yeah, but... “ Craig trailed off, opting in to show a middle finger to the webcam. Tweek frowned, twitching.

“ _Ugh!_ Whatever! Can you bring Stripe over here?” Tweek asked. “I wanna see him, it’s been forever!”

“I don’t know…” Craig leaned back against his chair, smirking again. God, what a Jerk! Tweek growled, showing his middle finger to the camera just like Craig had.

Craig's eyes widened. He took off his headset, snickering, and stood to go grab the rodent from its cage. Tweek waited anxiously. He loved seeing Stripe! When Craig let him hold it, he would relax almost immediately. He had no idea such a small animal could calm his frequent twitching, but Stripe gave him this sense of comfort nothing else could, not even coffee.

Craig returned to his desk, carrying the guinea pig. “God Stripe, you are getting so fat,” he murmured to it while putting his headset back on.

“I wonder who's fault that is?” Tweek quipped, causing Craig to glare at the screen. He watched the rodent squirm in Craig’s hands and heard Craig curse under his breath.

“He’s fucking scratching me, can you believe it?” Craig complained, which made Tweek snort again. “He saw you, and now he’s rebelling against his own father.”

“He finally realized his dad is a big jerk to his boyfriend,” Tweek said as he watched Craig scratch lightly at Stripe’s back, which made it purr and settle down.

Craig brought Stripe closer to his face and whispered, “I have showered you with love and affection, Stripe. Don’t listen to your stepfather’s lies.”

Tweek cheeks warmed up, giggling nervously. “Stepfather? C-can Stripe even understand what you’re saying?”

Craig nodded as he continued petting the guinea pig. “Of course he can. He knows who you are. And he’s started acting like a little asshole when you don’t come over.”

“Hey, don’t call him that! This is why he's rebelling against you!”

Tweek heard Craig's soft chuckle from that. Craig was staring back at him, giving him a slight smirk.

“I hope you can come over soon. He… misses you a ton.”

His soft tone made Tweek’s heart beat faster, and the familiar churning in his stomach was back. ‘Oh, Christ… Did… did he mean… himself?’

Tweek smiled shyly at his screen, placing a hand over one of the ear pads. His eyes flickered down as he spoke, too embarrassed to look Craig in the eyes, even behind the computer screen.

“I hope so too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAA I wanted to step back from the angst and just have a fluffy moment...... bless
> 
> All feedback is welcomed and appreciated!


	5. Trembling hands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two new members join the party!
> 
> ... Until one is taken away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to my lovely editor and beta reader tweeksqueak!! <3 pls send them a follow!  
> https://tweeksqueak.tumblr.com/
> 
> Hello! This is my first fanfiction, and I'm really excited to finally post this! This fic begins in South Park season 19 and follows Tweek and Craig's perspectives throughout the seasons, as well as their relationship.
> 
> My Tumblr: https://jimvalmers.tumblr.com/

The school bell rang out as students filled up the hallways and entered their classrooms.

It was another Monday morning, and Tweek was waiting by Craig’s locker. He fidgeted with his thermos, looking around at the students who paid no mind to the bell, talking amongst themselves as they loitered in the hallways. Craig shut his locker door, causing Tweek to jerk his head towards him. Craig’s lip curled up into a smirk, which made Tweek smile nervously, clutching his thermos closer to his chest.

For the past few days, it had felt like the two were getting closer and closer like an invisible force was pushing them together. At least that’s how Tweek felt. He couldn’t stop himself from being with or wanting to be near Craig every moment of the day. It was as if Craig was his rock, keeping him stable. Tweek had never felt that way with any other person.

“You seem more spazzy than usual. What happened over the weekend?” Craig asked, causing Tweek to jerk again.

“ _Ack!_ My dad kept the coffee shop open all weekend long! I’ve been taste testing so much, I-I haven’t been able to sleep!” Tweek said. He trembled uncontrollably, gritting his teeth as to not let a groan escape. Craig shook his head in disbelief.

“Your dad is literally insane. Didn’t he know you had school the next day?”

“That’s what I told him!  _Nngah!_ ” Tweek's head twitched as he cried out. With trembling hands, he opened his thermos and drank out of it until he felt his chest warm up and his body relax. It wasn’t for long though, because his body went into another fit of twitches when someone called out for him.

“Hey! Tweek, Craig! How is my O-T-P doing?”

The two looked over at who called them and saw Clyde frantically waving. Behind him was Jimmy.

“Look who came crawling back,” Craig said as he raised a fist, which Clyde immediately bumped. “I guess your whole ninja plan didn’t work out, huh?”

“Hey! It was going pretty good, just so you know!” Clyde snapped back, crossing his arms. “Until David got shot by Officer Barbrady… But that’s beside the point!”

“I-is he okay?” Tweek asked. He felt his eye twitch. ‘Oh Jesus, when did Barbrady get his badge back? Why did he shoot _another_ kid?!’

“Yeah, yeah. He’s fine. All the other guys got busted, though,” Clyde said. He scratched at the back of his head. “I mean, it was bound to end someday. Ninjas were starting to get boring after a week of messing around at Kenny’s place.”

“Plus, we missed hanging out l-like before! We feel really bad for le-luh-leaving you guys out, just because you’re… uh…” Jimmy grimaced.

Tweek and Craig glanced at each other. Tweek tried to silently communicate with him, pleading for him to speak to his friends. Their hostility was starting to become a little too much for Tweek to handle! In school, they’ve been avoiding Craig’s friends every day at school their nasty argument, and finally, Tweek had had enough. He glared at Craig, who glared back, but Tweek kept his ground. Jesus, he had no idea where all of this confidence came from – maybe from Craig himself!

Craig rolled his eyes, clicking his tongue as he looked back to the other two, making Tweek hopeful.

“It did piss me off – a lot. That was a dick move to pull against someone.”

Tweek watched as Jimmy and Clyde looked down in shame. He nudged Craig slightly, pouting at him. Craig inhaled, shoving his hands into his pockets.

“But... that’s in the past now.”

Jimmy perked up. “Really? S-so you forgive us?”

Craig rolled his eyes again and nodded, which made Clyde cheer. “I’m so happy, dude! Come on guys, group hug!” Clyde advanced on Craig with open arms, causing him to recoil.

“Don’t touch me,” Craig said as he pushed Clyde’s arms off of him, which made Tweek snicker into his hand.

“Oh, be-before I forget... “ Jimmy shrugged his backpack off and reached into it to take out a rolled up newspaper. He handed it to Craig, who picked off the rubber band that held all the papers together and straightened it out.

“The week’s _Super School News_ , de-delivered straight from the source.” Jimmy gave a big smile, showing both rows of his braces. “If you could turn to page six and read the headline out loud, Craig.”

Craig turned to the page Jimmy asked for and began to read out loud: “‘ _As requested by popular demand, we at Super School News presents a weekly edition of submitted yaoi art_ ’… Dude.”

Tweek’s cheeks heated up at the drawings that filled the page, depicting him and Craig embracing and… other actions. He looked up to see Clyde and Jimmy with shit eating grins on their faces.

“You guys are assholes,” Craig said, but he was smiling. He punched them both on the shoulder, still holding the newspaper.

Jimmy winced. “O-ouch Craig! You can’t put your hands on the handi- handi- haaa…. You can’t put your hands on the disabled!”

“Are you sticking me in that group too?”  Clyde asked with tears in his eyes.

“W-well…”

Their conversation was interrupted when they heard panicked yelling approaching from somewhere close by. Tweek had turned his head just in time to see a crowd of students running full sprint across the hall, screaming in terror. Butters took a turn into their hallway, panting heavily.

“PC Principal is on the warpath! Run for your lives!” he yelled out to warn everyone, before running off, causing everyone to burst into hysterics.

Tweek felt his heart sink as he heard the shouting of PC Principal come closer. He slowly backed against the lockers in fear. Craig gripped his hand immediately as a way to comfort him, but Tweek couldn’t stop a scream from escaping when PC Principal finally appeared, his face red from anger. He held up a copy of the school newspaper, which made Tweek, Craig, and Clyde turn to Jimmy, then back to their principal, who had stopped in the middle of the locker rows, looking around.

“Who was it?! Huh? Somebody better fess up right NOW!” PC Principal yelled as he walked farther into the hallway, jabbing a finger into the newspaper. “I’m going to find out who did this!”

Tweek whipped his head to where PC Principal pointed. “Broflovski! Was it you?!”

Kyle stopped walking and turned around, his chin raised as he replied. “Was what me, sir?”

“I just saw a copy of the school newspaper in which a student used the word ‘retarded’ to refer to the cafeteria lunch policy!” PC Principal said through gritted teeth. “The word ‘retarded’ does _not belong in our school!_ ” he screamed in the direction where Tweek was standing, which made him and the surrounding students flinch and tremble.

Tweek felt his eyes brimming with tears. He usually wasn’t a crier, but now he couldn’t help it. It was too much pressure! His heartbeat was already beating too fast from all the coffee he had been drinking, causing him to be super sensitive to the slightest noise. Craig raised an arm as if to shield them both, and as he did, his grip on Tweek’s hand tightened.

“Who is in charge of the school paper?! ‘Cause I’m about break their fuckin’ legs!”

Tweek and the others’ eyes landed on Jimmy, who stood beside the principal. Stan pointed towards Jimmy, speaking up, “Uh, he’s in charge of the school paper.”

PC Principal had turned to face Jimmy, face morphing into one in shocked realization.

“You gonna break his legs, PC Principal?” Stan continued. Tweek was amazed by how someone could so easily make the principal speechless. He wiped his tears away, watching as PC Principal began to stammer, taking a step back, before finally regaining his posture.

“M-my apologies, let’s walk to my office at once, uh…”

“Jimmy Valmer, editor for the Su- _Super School News_ ,” Jimmy introduced himself, smiling.

“Jimmy! Yes! If you could follow me…” he said, waiting for Jimmy to do so. PC Principal turned to their wide-eyed audience. “WHAT?! Get to your classes _right now_!” he screamed, which made everyone wince and leave the scene.

* * *

 

Craig tugged Tweek by the arm into another hallway, away from PC Principal’s vision. Clyde followed behind them, letting out a big sigh when he stopped running.

“Jesus fucking Christ, our principal is so insane,” he said, hand on his chest as he panted.

“You looked like you were about to piss yourself,” Craig said. Clyde went silent, a flustered look on his face. Realization seemed to dawn on Craig. “No fucking way.”

“Dude, he was looking straight at me! I couldn’t help it! B-but it’s not noticeable though!” Clyde said, face bright red.

Tweek sighed as he changed the subject. “Gee, I hope Jimmy will be okay.”

Craig turned to him with a soft expression. “Don’t worry Tweek, this is Jimmy we’re talking about,” he said, trying to be reassuring. “Plus, PC Principal’s super fucking PC. Every time I’m brought into the office because I got caught doing somethin’ wrong, I always leave with money. Just because I’m gay.”

“I guess…” Tweek mumbled out, his eyes flickering down, then back to Craig as he gave a small smile to him. Craig let out a breathy laugh, smiling as well.

‘Wait, isn’t Clyde still here?!’

He turned to Clyde who was staring at them with fascination, hands clasped together like they were the most adorable things he had ever seen. Tweek pouted, feeling his cheeks warm up.

“You two are literally so cute,” Clyde said, making them both blush in embarrassment. The late bell rang through the halls, causing Clyde to gasp and look up to the clock. “Oh fuck! I gotta get to class! Later, homos!” He gave a peace sign as he ran off, receiving one of Craig’s middle fingers as a goodbye.

Craig turned over to Tweek, an annoyed expression on his face. “I’m sorry about Clyde, he’s such a dumbass.”

Tweek’s smiled nervously, still feeling awkward from what had happened. “I-it’s okay, he’s just being supportive,” Tweek said, brushing his hair behind his ear. “You know, you seem happier n-now that they apologized. I’m glad.”

Craig placed a hand behind his neck, looking away as he grumbled. “I wasn’t going to hold a grudge forever…” Tweek raised an eyebrow at that and waited for Craig to continue. “And… I missed talking to them… I guess.”

Tweek nudged Craig, laughing under his breath. “There it is! See, you do have feelings! _Gah!”_ Craig pinched Tweek’s cheek and tugged on it, smirking when it made Tweek squeak out.

“Go to class, nerd. Before you get in trouble.”

“ _Arrgh!_ Jerk!” Tweek pushed Craig’s hand off, huffing. He looked at the clock on the wall. They were already late to class, but for some reason, he didn’t feel any panic over it. Even with all the coffee he’d drank, even after the principal almost made him have a panic attack in the middle of the hallway, Craig somehow found a way to immediately make him relax.

Tweek leaned forward and hugged Craig tightly, burying his face into Craig’s soft jacket. He smiled when he felt Craig hug him back. When he pulled away, Tweek gripped his thermos tight in his hands, smiling brightly at his boyfriend. “Alright, I’m leaving. See you after class!”

With that he ran off, looking back at Craig once to wave at him, to which he received a wave back. When he turned the corner he stopped and leaned against the wall, holding his thermos close to his chest.

‘Craig’s heart… It was beating so fast when we hugged…’

The churning in his gut began to turn again, causing him to release a shaky breath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so happy to be writing the gang all together... sorta! :D Thought this is a mostly creek fic,,,, u'll see these boys here and there!
> 
> All feedback is appreciated and welcome!


	6. Our fingers sparked together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jimmy has some plans!
> 
> Tweek and Craig have a moment together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to my lovely editor and beta reader tweeksqueak!! <3 pls send them a follow!  
> https://tweeksqueak.tumblr.com/
> 
> Hello! This is my first fanfiction, and I'm really excited to finally post this! This fic begins in South Park season 19 and follows Tweek and Craig's perspectives throughout the seasons, as well as their relationship.
> 
> My Tumblr: https://jimvalmers.tumblr.com/

Early morning, Tweek was getting ready for school. He combed his hair in the bathroom, trying to tame his wild curls when he heard his phone buzz on the counter. He stared at the new message, which read:

_Jimmy: It’s go time!_

Tweek had no idea what that meant. He hoped Jimmy wasn’t planning something that would end up hurting him. Or worse, something illegal that would get him in a shit ton of trouble! Tweek didn’t make enough tip money to bail him out!

Shoving the phone in his pocket, Tweek took a deep breath and walked downstairs. He had to relax; nothing good would come from freaking out. He remembered how when Craig asked Jimmy whether he was in trouble or not, Jimmy had shaken his head and told them he had an idea for the next school paper.

In the hall, Tweek bent down to tie his shoelaces when he heard a sudden loud thunk against the door. He yelped, startled. It sounded like something hitting the other side. Looking through the peephole he saw a rolled newspaper laying on the ground.

Tweek opened the door, stepping outside to pick up the paper. He looked up, seeing Jimmy riding by on a scooter.

Jimmy waved at him, yelling out: “ _Super School News!_ R-Read all about it!”

Tweek watched him ride away, chucking another newspaper at the next house’s door. He looked at the newspaper in his hand, rolling off the rubber band and opening it up. He read the headline: “‘PC Principal’s… Retarded policy’…?”

Oh, Christ. He _had_ to tell Craig about this.

* * *

“No way!”

“I’m serious, Tweek. Cartman actually thinks I owe him for somehow getting us together. He’s fucking delusional. Watch your step.”

Tweek squeaked when he stumbled on a branch, blushing when Craig caught him. The two were walking down a little pathway by Stark’s Pond that was covered in overgrown plants and branches. Craig pushed aside a large leaf, ducking his head under it, and waited for Tweek to pass under as well.

“ _Ack!_ What even is this place, dude?” Tweek asked, brushing away twig that stuck to his hair.

“It’s a secret place I sometimes go to chuck rocks at passing cars. It has an amazing view, though, so I figured I’d show you.”

Craig pointed at the sky, which made Tweek gasp softly. He was right, it was a beautiful beautiful view. The cliffside they were on allowed them to see the sun set between two mountains, the sky turning into a beautiful mix of purple and orange. Craig sat down, his legs dangling off the cliff’s edge. He looked up at the sky. Tweek tugged on his shirt nervously before sitting down next to Craig, crossing his legs.

“We haven’t had a lot of alone time together,” Craig said, turning his head towards Tweek. “Every time I think things have gone back to normal, some shit comes out of nowhere to fuck everything up.”

Tweek placed his twitching hands on his lap, “I-I agree!” Tweek yelped, nervously looking away from Craig’s gaze. “A lot of things are happening this year, and it’s putting a lot of pressure on me. I can’t take it… Changing South Park is impossible without things going horribly wrong!  _Ghh!_ ”

Craig sighed, a hand going under his chullo to push his hair back. “I know what you mean. Some weird shit is happening to this town, but I don’t know what. And... I don’t feel like myself anymore. Instead of being calm and collected I’m…”

“You’re acting like me?” Tweek said, lightheartedly. It made Craig smile and shake his head. He placed his hands to his sides on the grass, leaning back.

“This is going to sound gay as hell, but–”

“We are gay, Craig.”

“ _But,_ ” Craig raised his voice, giving an unamused look to Tweek, who snickered. “I’m so glad I have you by my side. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Tweek's breath hitched, cheeks heating up. Craig gave an awkward smile, his cheeks turning into a deep shade of red.

“You’re like, the only person who gets how I’m feeling right now.”

Tweek smiled back, placing his hand over Craig’s. Their shoulders bumped together as they leaned closer to each other.

“You are too,” Tweek said, his smile growing.

‘You’re the only person who makes me believe that everything will be okay.’

But he kept that thought to himself.

They continued to talk to each other in hushed tones, about anything they could think of, until the sun set, turning the sky into this deep blue color. As much as he didn’t want to leave, Tweek knew that it was a school night, and he didn’t want to get Craig in trouble for being out so late.

Even after they’d gone their separate way home, the smiles on their faces remained.

Tweek knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight, but he was fine with it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another small creek moment!!!! things are getting good eheheeeee
> 
> All feedback is appreciated and welcome!


	7. Crutching along

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The sun hasn't shine yet, and they already have a mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to my lovely editor and beta reader tweeksqueak!! <3 pls send them a follow!  
> https://tweeksqueak.tumblr.com/
> 
> Hello! This is my first fanfiction, and I'm really excited to finally post this! This fic begins in South Park season 19 and follows Tweek and Craig's perspectives throughout the seasons, as well as their relationship.
> 
> My Tumblr: https://jimvalmers.tumblr.com/

At almost five in the morning, Tweek received an urgent text from Jimmy to meet him at his house.

Of course, he was wide awake when he received it, mulling over the thoughts in his anxious head, as per usual. He sneaked out of his room as quietly as possible as to avoid waking his parents up. Tweek’s parents were light sleepers, so Tweek had to bite his lip to avoid making any noises as he crept out of the house.

The skies were still in a dark shade of blue, stars twinkling slightly to provide a hue of light for Tweek’s path. He had a tight grip on his backpack, tripping over his unlaced shoes as he ran down the street. 

Clyde and Craig had already arrived there due to the fact that they were so close to Jimmy’s place. Tweek watched as they yawned and rubbed their sleepy eyes, smiling softly when they greet him with tired voices. The two had their coats thrown over their pajamas, and Craig's chullo was dangerously close to plopping down on the snow underneath him.

Token had arrived soon after, riding his bike towards the house. He braked, letting the bike fall onto the snow, assumedly too tired to kick the stand out. Clyde smiled at his direction, the two sharing a lazy fist bump as Clyde rested his head on Token's shoulder, close to falling asleep right there on him.

Tweek looked towards the house as the garage door automatically opened. Jimmy made his way outside with a huge bag of newspapers over his shoulder. Tweek nudged Craig to stop him from dozing off, causing his head snap up. He gave a low grumble under his breath.

When Jimmy finally stopped in front of them, he dropped his bag onto the pavement.

“Gentlemen, I have called you here today for a very important mission,” Jimmy said, with confidence, as if he was a sergeant or something. “I need you all to help me pass out these new-newspapers to every home before the sun rises.”

Clyde yawned widely while speaking. “What, why? Why the fuck are we doing this?”

“Yeah, what the hell?” Token said, crossing his arms. “You know how far I had to ride just to get to your place?” 

Jimmy ignored their questions, grabbing one of the newspapers and throwing it at Craig, who failed to catch it. It rolled to Tweek’s feet, who bent to pick it up. When Tweek opened the newspaper, his jaw dropped at the headline, which read in huge letters: _"_ _PC STANDS FOR PUSSY CRUSHING_. _"_

His eyes skimmed through the page, and he felt the other three looking over his shoulder, reading along. When Tweek looked to Jimmy, he had a grin on his face. 

“This is my biggest report yet, fellas. And that’s why I ne-need your help.” 

“This is gonna make PC Principal flip out, Jimmy,” Clyde said, looking worried. “Are you sure you wanna do this?”

“Well, someone has to p-put those P-P-P-PC pussies in their place!” Jimmy replied. “And I’m gonna be the one to do it. So, Everyone, grab as many papers you can ca-ca-carry!” 

Clyde, who looked inspired by Jimmy’s speech, nodded before he began to shove newspapers into his backpack. Token shrugged before taking off his bag to take some as well.

Tweek and Craig shared a look and began filling their bags up as well.

“Alright, I think I’m good. I’m gonna walk all the way down the street ‘til I reach Kenny’s place!” Clyde said. He stood and gave Jimmy a high five, waving the others goodbye as he walked down the street. “See you guys later!”

Token stood up straight, putting his bag on his back and spoke. “ I already brought my bike here, so I’ll go to the farthest street.” His eyes flickered towards Craig and Tweek as he continued.

“I’ll be back here, though. See you, Jimmy.” 

Craig kept his face apathetic as he watched Token walk to his bike, but Tweek could see some strain behind it.

Craig turned his head towards Jimmy, “Me and Tweek are gonna go around the block then. And just so you know, you owe us.” 

“Oh yeah?” Jimmy smirked.

Tweek frowned, nudging Craig. “He’s just kidding. We’ll see you later, Jimmy!” Tweek waved goodbye, pulling Craig with him by his hand.

* * *

They walked down the street, throwing newspapers at every house they passed. Tweek saw the sky glow brighter as the sun rose, which made him blink his eyes to adjust to the light.

They had been walking in silence the whole time, which gave Tweek some time to think to himself. He wondered if Craig was upset that he saw Token again after weeks of the two not speaking. Tweek knew what Token had said hurt Craig deeply, even if he wouldn’t admit it. But, he hated seeing him so… closed off, like this. 

Craig came to a stop, and Tweek turned to him, questioning.

“This is the last house, you got any more newspapers?” Craig asked. Tweek nodded, grabbing one from his bag, and threw it onto the welcome mat of the house. Craig smirked at him. 

“Nice, let’s head back home. I’m _so_ fucking tired.”

Tweek felt Craig take his hand as he began walking. Tweek tugged at his shirt, looking around nervously before speaking. 

“Craig, do you remember… Token said he was going back to Jimmy’s place after he was done?”

Craig kept an apathetic expression on his face, but his grip on Tweek’s hand tightened as he spoke. “Yeah. So?”

“So… This could be your chance to, I don’t know, maybe talk to him?” Tweek said. He bit his lip. Maybe he shouldn’t have said anything at all. This was such a heavy topic for Craig, and now everything felt so tense, he was fucking things up –

“Tweek, you remember what he said. He’s uncomfortable around us,” Craig answered. “Besides, even if we did go back, what makes you think he’d want to talk to me?”

“I know that! But…” Tweek took a deep breath, tugging his shirt again. “I don’t know Token well, but I feel like he’s just as hurt as you are. This… this might one of your only chances to patch things up!”

Tweek waited for Craig’s reply, peering at his face. It was blank as usual, but his eyebrows were knitted close together. He was quiet. Tweek assumed he was mulling over his thoughts. Craig finally turned his head and looked into Tweek’s eyes. 

“Fine,” he said, which made Tweek smile. “But only if you go with me.”

* * *

When they returned to Jimmy’s house, Tweek saw Token standing outside. It seemed like he was waiting for them. He looked nervous, checking his phone with a worried expression on his face. He slipped his phone back into his pocket when he looked up and noticed Tweek and Craig.

“Hey, guys,” Token said nervously. He combed his fingers, hesitantly, through his hair. “Do you... have a minute to talk?”

Craig shoved his hands in his coat pockets, giving Token a nod. He was trying to act as if he didn’t care, but Tweek could tell that Craig was nervous. He wasn’t catching Token’s gaze on purpose, and his frown was strained. Tweek pulled on his shirt anxiously, nodding as well.

Token took a deep breath before he began speaking.

“I’m… I wanted to apologize for what I said a while back,” Token started, his fingers curling into fists. He looked to the side, his voice wavering slightly. “I felt so fucking awful after I said it. I knew it was wrong, I don’t know why I would… ever think to say that to you guys faces. My girlfriend, Nichole, she was so mad when I told her about it. I thought she was gonna kill me.”

Craig smirked and let out a breathy laugh, which made Token do so as well. The tense atmosphere between the two almost eased. 

“Even then, I was too ashamed to say anything until now,” Token continued, his hands moving as he spoke.  “I guess I was raised up to think this way, but it doesn’t excuse what I said. I want to do better for you guys. I miss hanging out with you, Craig. And Tweek, I want to actually get to know– oh shit. Are you okay?”

Tweek realized that his vision was blurry from tears – enough tears that the collar of his shirt was already soaked. As he wiped at his eyes, he looked to Craig and noticed that he too had tear stains on his cheeks.

“Fuckin’ hell, Token. Get over here,” Craig said as he spread his arms. Token walked over and gave him a hug, grunting when Craig's arms tightened around him. Tweek flinched when he heard his back pop. When Craig let go, he smirked, wiping the tears from his face. 

“Oh, and yeah, apology accepted,” he said.

“Jesus, nice to have you back, Craig.” Token laughed, nervously, stretching out his back. “And you too, Tweek. It’s great to have you in the gang now.”

Tweek perked up at that, beaming. He shared a hug with Token as well, who patted his back when they separated. Tweek turned his head towards Craig, who smiled at him, brightly. Tweek’s own smile grew, cheeks flushing warmly as Craig took his hand, intertwining their fingers together.

Tweek’s chest swelled with pride at the sight of Craig’s genuine smile. He hoped the friendship between him and Token was repaired now, and that Craig would feel more comfortable opening up to his friends.

“Oh- Uh, I was serious about Nichole, by the way. She’s still pretty pissed off,” Token gave a nervous laugh. “Do you think we can… arrange a double date so she knows for sure we all made up?”

Tweek blinked at that, feeling his cheeks warm up even more than before.

Oh, Jesus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOWOW almost at 100 kudos and 1000 hits i'm sobbing... thank yall sm!
> 
> I'm shaking over this adorable art made for the last chapter, thank u smmmmmmmm tweeksqueak again im still crying  
> https://tweeksqueak.tumblr.com/post/183670249027/a-scene-from-jimvalmers-fic-rosebud-chapter-6
> 
> Anyways i hope yall enjoy!
> 
> All feedback is appreciated and welcome!


	8. Milk and sugar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls make an appearance again!
> 
> Tweek is paranoid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to my lovely editor and beta reader tweeksqueak!! <3 pls send them a follow!  
> https://tweeksqueak.tumblr.com/
> 
> Hello! This is my first fanfiction, and I'm really excited to finally post this! This fic begins in South Park season 19 and follows Tweek and Craig's perspectives throughout the seasons, as well as their relationship.
> 
> My Tumblr: https://jimvalmers.tumblr.com/

Picking at his lunch, Tweek sighed as he looked over to his boyfriend, who was scrolling on his phone. He didn’t know why he was so unsettled, but something just… didn’t feel right. It wasn’t between the two of them  – they were doing fine, actually. At least, that’s what he had thought, although the churning feeling in his stomach never stopped.

Their relationship with Token had gotten better as well; he was gradually opening up while they hung out, even joining Craig in messing with Clyde. ‘I think they went too far with him though…’ Tweek thought, sulking. ‘Why did they have to bring up Clyde’s dead mom while throwing around insults?’

Still, he felt strange. Jimmy hadn’t been seen in school since they helped him deliver the newspapers in town. That was a couple of days ago and he hadn’t left a single message in the group chat about skipping class, or anything. It really worried Tweek. And when PC Principal himself went missing as well, he wondered if there was a connection to Jimmy.

“Hey, you okay?” Craig asked. Tweek realized he’d been staring at Craig while thinking. “You’ve got something on your mind? Do you need some of your coffee?”

Tweek shook his head, placing his hands on his lap. “No, I’m fine. But… Don’t you feel a little worried about Jimmy? He’s been gone for a while now.”

“What? No. Didn’t you read the latest school paper?” Craig asked, placing a hand over Tweek’s. “Jimmy’s out on a vacation with some chick.”

Tweek wasn’t convinced. “That doesn’t make any sense! Why would he – ”

“Tweek. I know Jimmy. He does this shit all the time.” Craig smirked, leaning against Tweek. “He’s probably trying to hook up with her, and that’s why he’s going.”  

“I guess… But – ”

“ _ Fuck you, Kyle! _ ”

They looked over their shoulders, catching Kyle falling onto the ground, Stan on top of him, hitting him. The students began to rise out of their seats to watch the fight up close, cheering them on. Tweek heard Craig give a breathy laugh as he watched the fight play out. Tweek only frowned, nibbling on his bottom lip. 

Something really didn’t feel right at all.

* * *

 

“You want to come over to my place again?” Craig asked after the final bell had rung. They were walking together hand in hand, arms swaying slightly. 

“Hmm, not today. Wendy sent me a message that she needed me after school,” Tweek said. Craig kept a neutral face, but his shoulders sunk down. 

“Oh, okay. Text me when you’re done, alright?” Craig let go of his hand, shoving it into his pockets.

“Of course.  _ Nghh… _ Say hi to Stripe for me!” Tweek waved Craig goodbye as he walked away.

He waited by the school entrance for Wendy, giving her a hug when she finally reached him.

“Tweek! I’m so glad you waited for me!” Wendy smiled brightly as she spoke, holding Tweek’s hands.

“ _ Gah! _ You said it was urgent!” Tweek twitched nervously. “What happened?”

Wendy reached into her pocket, taking out a cloth and placing it in Tweek’s hands. When he looked up at her with a confused expression, she told him, “I need you to come with me to a meeting with the girls.”

“And… what’s with the blindfold?” 

“Well, a lot of the girls weren’t comfortable with you knowing where our meetings are held since you’re a boy.”

“W-wait, what?”

“To put it bluntly, I need to cover your eyes with this so you don’t know where we’re going.”

Tweek took a step back, gritting his teeth. “Wait, what is going on?  _ Ack! _ Why do I need to do this? And what even is this meeting?!”

Wendy kept her tight hold on his hands. “Please Tweek, you said you’d help! I can explain everything when we get there!”

Tweek’s head twitched, looking at Wendy in exasperation. He tried to stare down her for a couple of seconds but finally gave in. He rolled his eyes with a scoff.

“Fine. But n-no funny business! And you better explain what the hell is going on!”

“Thank you, Tweek. You’re a lifesaver,” Wendy said, grabbing the blindfold with both hands. She placed it over his eyes, knotting it at the back of his head. All Tweek could see was darkness.

He yelped when he felt Wendy tug his hand, starting their journey to wherever the hell the girl’s meeting was. Wendy’s spoke to him in reassurance. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll be guiding you. Just listen to my voice.”

* * *

 

As Wendy removed the blindfold from Tweek’s eyes he squinted, trying to adjust to the sudden light. Around him, he could hear the chatter of girls. When he finally could see again, he looked around the room. Covering the bright pink walls were posters of celebrities, unicorns, hearts, and laminated papers, all consisting of lists. In front of him were desks positioned on both sides of the room, facing each other. The middle had a larger desk, like a courtroom. 

Tweek realized that all eyes in the room were on him, which made him squeak. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned towards Wendy.

“Follow me,” she said as she led him into the room. Tweek trembled nervously as he walked, hands gripping his hair. He felt so out of place, surrounded by the girls, who looked like they were about to pounce on him. Wendy stopped in front of an empty desk, pointing at it.

“Nelly isn't here today 'cause she's sick, so you can take her seat in the meantime,” she said, then began walking to the courtroom desk. Tweek’s head twitched to the side and he couldn’t help to let out a yelp. He sat down, slowly, looking over at Nichole, who was sitting next to him. She gave him a comforting smile, which eased him. At least there was one girl who didn’t want to kill him with her eyes.

Wendy sat down in her seat, holding a gavel in her hand. “The eight hundred and second meeting of the girls is hereby called to order. Sparkle, sparkle.” She hit the gavel against the table, making all the girls stand up in unison.

“Sunshine!”

“ _ Aaargh! _ ”

“Sunshine, sparkle. Let’s begin with the important discussion about PC Principal, and the disappearance of Leslie Meyers and Jimmy Valmer,” Wendy said, placing her gavel back down.

“Wait, wait!” Tweek yelled out, standing up. He flinched slightly when everyone turned towards him but kept his ground. “Why am I even here, Wendy?”

“Oh, right. Well, we needed someone who was close with Jimmy who could help us figure out what’s happening in this town,” Wendy explained, to which the girls nodded. “No one here knows what happened before his disappearance, and the girls voted against bringing any boy here except for you and Craig. And then, in the last meeting, a majority of the girls chose to bring you!”

“What?! Why me?  _ Gah!  _ Craig is way closer to Jimmy than me!” 

The girls started murmuring with each other, stopping when Wendy hit the gavel once more. Bebe then stood up. 

“If it pleases and sparkles, I will explain to Tweek why we chose him.”

Lola stood up as well, speaking. “Sunshine, sparkle. Bebe Stevens has the floor.”

Bebe nodded and put her hands on her hips. “We all voted that Tweek would be the better option because of Craig’s behavior, and how it does  _ not _ glitter with our system. Just the other day, I caught him picking boogers from his nose, and  _ eating them. _ ”

Sounds of disgust filled the room. Tweek looked at Bebe with a confused expression. ‘Was  _ that  _ really the only thing separating us?’

Wendy banged the gavel onto the desk, pouting. “Everyone! Please!” All the girls quieted down, and Wendy cleared her throat. “Now, the only thing we know is that Jimmy’s newspapers became popular within the town after he began sending them door to door.

“The reason they became so popular was that his newspapers have no advertisements in them, separating them from online news sources. After gaining this popularity, Jimmy supposedly ‘went on a Disney cruise’ with Leslie Meyers,” Wendy said, looking towards Tweek. 

Tweek processed all of this information, gripping his shirt.

“Do you know anything that happened before the day of his disappearance, Tweek?” Wendy asked. 

Lola stood up again to speak. “Sunshine, sparkle. Tweek Tweak has the floor.”

When she sat down, Tweek shot up, looking around nervously. “Um… Well… The last time I saw him, I was helping him deliver the last newspaper he did before this one. A-about the Disney trip!” Tweek stammered, tugging at his button-up. “That’s… that’s it really. If it helps, Jimmy told us that he was going to start delivering door to door because PC Principal wanted to monitor his papers and uh… he was worried he’d start putting ads on his papers!”

The girls began murmuring with each other once again. Tweek sat back down nervously, looking around the room. Wendy hit the desk with her gavel to silence the group.

“Thank you Tweek, that really does help a lot.” Wendy smiled at him for a moment, before going back to a more serious expression. “So we know there is a major correlation between advertisements and Jimmy Valmer, maybe even PC Principal. But what about Leslie Meyers? We know that she disappeared as well.”

One girl with blonde, curly hair spoke up. “Do we even know  _ who _ Leslie is?”

Tweek frowned at that, looking towards her. “What?”

“Well, I don’t even remember where she came from. But when she talked to me, she knew everything about me!” 

Wendy stood up, looking at the girl as well. “Wait, Annie. What do you mean by that?”

The girl, Annie, looked at the other girls around her, eyes widening. “Don’t tell me she hasn’t talked to you girls the same way!” she scoffed. “She’s always like, telling me what I need to do to improve my life. Like, lay off girl, and take care of yourself first!”

A girl in Tweek’s row gasped, making him turn his head towards her. “Oh my god, she said the same thing to me! She told me where to find the best deals for diet pills. That way, I could be happy, or something like that!”

The girls talked in concerned voices among themselves, all having had similar experiences with Leslie. Not even Wendy had the power to silence them. Instead, she spoke to Lola, and her expression changed to one of worry. Tweek felt a tap on his shoulder and turned towards Nichole.

“Hey, did Leslie ever talk to you?” she asked him. Tweek tugged at his shirt, trying to remember.

“I… I don’t remember her ever giving me advice or anything. We have the same class, but she kind of kept quiet in the back of the room,” he said to Nichole, who nodded.

...Right? He closed his eyes, going deep into his thoughts. He could only recall talking to her once, and he hadn’t even started the conversation. He remembered that calm voice, paired with those cold eyes, the same ones that stare at him in the hallways when he was with Craig.

What… what did she say that day...?

He opened his eyes when it suddenly hit him.

_ “I’m sure you two will be much happier now.” _

She had told him that… after Craig asked him to be his boyfriend.

Tweek bit his lip. Why did she say it like that?

The other girls were given advice, told ways to make their life better, and themselves happier. Why was it that what she told him was so different? Why would she go out of her way to say that he will ‘be much happier now?’ It was like... like she already knew he had what made him happy...

Tweek felt his heart sink in realization.

‘Did… did Leslie have something to do with us getting together?’

“ – eek? Tweek!” He tried to face the voice that called for him, but the light stung his eyes, forcing him to close them once again. He felt out of breath.

“Oh my God, I think Tweek’s having a panic attack!” the voice cried out. Tweek could hear the alarmed buzz of the girls and the sound of their chairs scraping against the floor. “Tweek, listen to my voice, okay? You’re going to be fine. Can you hear me?”

Tweek nodded, gripping his shirt so tight his knuckles went white.

“Good! Good... Okay, Tweek, breathe in through your nose, and out through your mouth. Can you do that for me, please?”

He nodded again, inhaling deeply, and shakily exhaling. The girl who held him encouraged him to do it over and over again. Gradually, his heart slowed back to a normal rhythm, though his twitching remained. Tweek looked up at the girl helping him and realized it was Nichole. He felt a blanket covering his back. Looking behind his shoulder, he saw the concerned faces of Wendy and Annie. 

Annie was holding a cup, and when she noticed him looking towards her, she spoke up. “Um! Tweek, Wendy said that you love coffee, so I made some for you.”

Tweek nodded towards her, taking the cup into his trembling hands. It was freshly made, and he could smell a hint of chocolate in the coffee.

“Thank you… I’m sorry for freaking out.  _ Gnnh _ ...” Tweek spoke in a low voice, head twitching to the side. He looked into his cup. Tweek couldn’t bear looking at the girls. Although he was grateful for them helping him, the last thing he wanted to do was spaz out in front of them. He couldn’t imagine what Craig would think if he panicked in front of him like this. 

Would Craig be scared? Annoyed?  _ Disgusted ?  _

He felt Nichole rub his back, taking him out of his thoughts.

“Don’t blame yourself, Tweek! If you don’t mind me asking… What made you go into a panic attack?” Nichole asked. Tweek stared into the swirls of milk in the coffee.

“I think…”

The girls leaned in closer.

“Leslie is somehow using us...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you, everyone, for all the support... I have exams soon so i'm glad i can post this chapter before then :9
> 
> All feedback is appreciated and welcome!


	9. Picking up the pieces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tweek finds out what's actually happening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to my lovely editor and beta reader tweeksqueak!! <3 pls send them a follow!  
> https://tweeksqueak.tumblr.com/
> 
> Hello! This is my first fanfiction, and I'm really excited to finally post this! This fic begins in South Park season 19 and follows Tweek and Craig's perspectives throughout the seasons, as well as their relationship.
> 
> My Tumblr: https://jimvalmers.tumblr.com/

Tweek fell back against his bed, curling up into a fetal position. Groaning, he buried his head into his pillow, trying to forget what happened earlier today. But he couldn’t. It was in the back of his mind, as if it was mocking him. 

‘Are my feelings for Craig genuine?’ he wondered. ‘Or were we set up? Did Leslie have something to do with us being gay?’ 

He shook his head, groaning again. No, that couldn’t be true. He knew he was gay. That was the one thing he was confident about! Even before the Asian girls began to draw them together, he did think Craig was cute, in his own way. Maybe he was into the bully type? 

But what if  _ Craig’s  _ feelings weren’t genuine? He had seemed disgusted with the thought of dating Tweek during the assembly. Why did he change his mind so quickly? 

Tweek jolted when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

_ Craig: are u ok? _

Speak of the Devil.

Tweek lay on his stomach as he read the message, hugging his pillow close. He didn’t know what to respond with. He wanted to ask how Craig felt about him, if Craig actually liked him, if he thought that they were being used for a PC awareness conspiracy –

He should start by replying to Craig.

_ Tweek: im fine _

_ Craig: u wanna meet up? _

Tweek’s heartbeat quickened while reading the message, and he gripped his pillow tighter. There’s no way he could see him right now! He was…  _ scared _ .

_ Tweek: sorry i cant _

_ Craig: ok. Gn <3 _

_ Tweek: night <3 _

He kicked his feet restlessly after he sent the final text and dropped his phone onto the bed sheets. What was he going to do now? A million questions were going through his head, and all of them were about Craig. Tweek couldn’t confide it all to the girls, he’d probably freak out in front of them again. He just wished…

A light knock on his door made him lift his head. His father stepped into his room, the usual serene smile on his face, holding a gun in his hand.

Wait.

A gun?!

_ “ GAAAH!” _ Tweek threw himself against the back corner of his bed, trembling. “D-dad! What are you d-doing with  _ that ?!” _

“Tweek, I’m just here to remind you that tomorrow is the gun show and we’re leaving early in the morning, okay?” Richard waved the handgun in the air. “So lights off, and go to sleep, alright? Good night, son.”

Tweek flinched when his dad shut the door, clutching his chest as he took in rapid breaths.

Maybe he should’ve gone to hang out with Craig.

* * *

It was the day of the gun show and Tweek was bored out of his mind. With his cheek resting against the palm of his hand, he watched the adults show off their guns and run around the arena. His mother, who was seated beside him, shushed him from time to time when he couldn’t contain his groans.

“Hey, dude.”

Tweek yelped, sitting up straight. Craig took a seat next to him, along with his father beside him. Tweek looked at him nervously, biting his lip.

“H-hey Craig…”

Craig gave him a small smile. The two went silent, Craig playing on his phone and Tweek sitting with his hands on his lap. It was almost unbearable how awkward Tweek felt at the moment, even though Craig seemed unbothered. He had so many questions on his mind he wanted to spill. But, what if Craig got mad at him? What if he caused a scene in front of everyone, and the Asian girls would start making depressing art of them again? Tweek clenched his teeth and groaned softly, wishing he could disappear, or something.

Tweek looked up when he heard the doors of the arena slam open and someone yelling out, “ _ Nobody move!” _

Everyone rose from their seats, pulling out their guns. Tweek screeched as he watched his own mother and Craig’s dad cock their guns. Craig sighed, muttering out, “Oh boy.”

“Listen to me, everyone! There are beings who are purposely gentrifying the earth so that humans can no longer afford it!” the man in the arena yelled.

‘Wait… is that Stan’s dad?’ Tweek wondered. ‘What the hell are they talking about?’ 

“We've been looking for Kyle Broflovski! Somebody's hiding him!”

Everyone in the room began aiming guns at each other, and Tweek flinched when his mom turned over and aimed towards his head.

“ _ G-GAAAH!  _ M-mom?! Wh-wha – “

“Hey, what the hell?” Tweek heard Craig yell out.

“Oh, sorry sweetie!” his mother hummed, turning the aim to another person. He clutched his shirt, taking in deep breaths. Tweek felt Craig grab his other hand, running his thumb over his knuckles as to relax him. Before Tweek could say anything to Craig, he heard another door slam open, along with a different voice.

“Don't listen to them! The real conspiracy here is the PC extremists who have no problem killing whoever doesn't think as they do!” 

He looked towards the voice, watching Kyle walking towards the center of the arena with a gun as well, holding someone’s hand. ‘Is… that Leslie? What is she doing with Kyle?’

Tweek grit his teeth, unable to move. He was utterly enthralled by the scene playing out in front of him. Even Craig was speechless, leaning forward to see what was happening below them.

To make the scenario even stranger, Jimmy came into the arena as well, with Officer Barbrady and… some lady? “You both got it wrong,” he said, looking towards Kyle. “Kyle, I know you probably thought Leslie was a kind, caring girl. But the truth is she's just an ad.”

Tweek felt his heart sink when he heard those words. 

“They've become sentient, they've taken human form. You can't tell what's human and what's an ad anymore!”

He cringed from the sound his teeth made from clenching so hard.

Leslie… she was an ad the whole time…

An ad… who took advantage of his feelings towards Craig.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bitch we almost at the end of season 19.... im shooketh...
> 
> but rly thank u all for the support....
> 
> All feedback is appreciated and welcome!


	10. Your smile is all I need

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tweek finally gets the confidence to speak his mind.
> 
> He wishes he was instead in his center.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to my lovely editor and beta reader tweeksqueak!! <3 pls send them a follow!  
> https://tweeksqueak.tumblr.com/
> 
> Hello! This is my first fanfiction, and I'm really excited to finally post this! This fic begins in South Park season 19 and follows Tweek and Craig's perspectives throughout the seasons, as well as their relationship.
> 
> My Tumblr: https://jimvalmers.tumblr.com/

Tweek buried his head into his knees, sniffling. Everything he’d gone through was a blur. All he could remember was small snippets:

_ Leslie speech about ads taking over. _

_ PC Principal’s fist through her android head. _

_ Craig’s expression when Tweek pulled away from him… Running… _

Running until he was deep in the woods by Stark’s Pond, crying to himself. Ugh, he felt so fucking stupid! Why would he let some ad take advantage of him like that? Just to use him for some shitty propaganda!

Worst of all… he still didn’t know how Craig felt. Sooner or later the whole town was going to revert back to normal. And then… Craig might realize he was being manipulated into thinking he was gay.

He whimpered pathetically, hugging his legs against his chest. He tried to take in deep breaths, closing his eyes tight.

_ Try to find my center… _

_ My center… _

He flinched when he heard leaves crunching, gradually growing louder, the sound of someone coming towards him. 

“Tweek?” 

He knew exactly who that voice was from.

Craig.

“Holy shit, are you okay? Jesus, I had to run after you, you’re pretty fast,” Craig panted as he ran up to him. “I thought I’d lost you.” Tweek lifted his head, seeing Craig’s hand reaching towards him, as if to help him stand up.

Tweek sniffed, standing on his own. Craig dropped his arm, a confused expression on his face. Tweek hugged his own arms, looking down to his feet. “Craig… go away.”

“...What?” 

“I’m serious, man!” Tweek yelled. When Craig reached for him, he flinched, walking back. “Don’t touch me!”

“What the hell, Tweek?! Why are you doing this?” 

Tweek watched as Craig gritted his teeth, balling his hands into fists. He trembled as he felt tears seep down his cheeks. 

“Why am I doing this? Craig, don’t you get it?”

Craig gave Tweek some space after he yelled, staring at him with wide eyes.

Tweek shuddered as he inhaled, then said, “I’m fucking scared okay?” He tugged at his hair, and continued, “Leslie was fucking p-profiting off what was happening to this town! She was… She was controlling everything! Ever since we became PC!”

Craig let Tweek speak, giving a deep exhale when he finished. “So? She’s dead! She isn’t hurting anyone anymore!”

“ _Nnngh!_ That doesn’t matter! She’s the reason why we’re together! Just to… just to exploit us! We were like… a part of her big plan, to… to… I don’t know!”

Tweek hissed when he tugged his hair again, feeling his scalp throb. Craig seemed too surprised to say anything, opting instead to scratch the back of his head. “Oookay, she messed with the whole yaoi movement. So what?”

“So  _ what?!  _ Craig, Jesus…” Tweek lip quivered, finally yelling out, “That means nothing about this is real!”

“Tweek… is that what you think?”

Tweek cowered, covering his eyes with his hands and sobbing silently. “W-what else could it mean…? You… you didn’t even think you were gay before that day, and now you’re known as the gay kid. Ugh… This is so fucked up...”

He felt Craig grab his arms, slowly pulling them away from his face. He blinked away his tears as he looked at Craig, breath hitching when Craig held his gaze.

“Tweek. That day I was so confused and angry. I’m gonna be honest, I thought being gay was weird, and that those girls were being fucking creeps. I thought they were fucking with me, for some reason.” He took in a breath, bringing Tweek's arms down. “But when you talked to me that day in my backyard, well… no one’s ever made me feel that way before.

“It really confused me, I didn’t know what to do. I had like… a million thoughts racing through my head. Then, my dad sat down with me and talked about it. He told me he was okay with me being… gay, and I shouldn’t force myself to be something I’m not. ” Craig smiled softly, holding Tweek's hands together. 

“So, I don’t care about Leslie. I don’t care about the Asian girls, the kids at school, the president, anyone. I don’t fucking care. I don’t care what anyone thinks about me. The only person I care about… is you.”

Tweek felt a gasp escape his lips, and his body moved on his own. He took his hands out of Craig’s, wrapping his arms around his neck and hugging him close. He felt Craig hug him back tightly and buried his face into his neck, their cheeks pressed against each others.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry I thought you… that we...”

“It’s okay, don’t worry. Come on, don’t cry on me, I just washed this jacket.”

Tweek giggled at that, causing Craig to chuckle as well. The two hugged tighter, Tweek lifting onto his tippy toes from excitement. 

He flinched when he heard something like an explosion. Craig held him protectively against his chest, and the two whipped their heads around to see… a Whole Foods lifting into the sky, flying away from the town into the distance.

They turned their heads to each other in surprise, but they both brushed it off, smiling at each other once again.

After all, weirder things happen in South Park every week.

* * *

“ _ Craaaaig… Craaaaaig… _ Hey, CRAIG!”

“What?!” Craig snapped at Clyde, who was leaning over the lunch table to get Craig’s attention. 

“Could you stop staring at Tweek for just one minute? I’m tryna show you a video!” Clyde gave a shit eating grin as Craig’s cheeks went red, and he lifted his middle finger up to Clyde.

A week had passed since the whole ‘ad-pocalypse’ happened to the town, and things had finally gone back to normal. Well, whatever normal is by South Park standards. Tweek was sitting with Craig and the other guys at the cafeteria. Token was on his phone, Jimmy was chugging his  _ second _ can of Dr. Pep-er, and Clyde was… being Clyde. Doing what Clyde does best: annoy Craig.

“Fuck off dude, show it to Token or someone else,” Craig said and turned back to Tweek, ignoring Clyde’s whining. But before they could go back to their eye gazing, they were rudely interrupted again.

“Clyde, you know these gaywads needa do sex with their eyes every lunch. It’s tradition!” 

Tweek could recognize that voice anywhere. He turned to watch Cartman plop down next to Clyde. Following him were Kyle, Stan, and Kenny, who took any remaining seats they could squeeze into.

“What the hell does that even mean, Cartman?” Kyle asked. He already sounded pissed off.

“I said what I said, Kahl, don’t be homophobic!”

“Shut the fuck up! If anything, you’re being homophobic!”

“See, that just sounds just like what a homophobic would say.”

Tweek rolled his eyes in annoyance, already used to the same scenario of the four arguing with each other. He felt a buzz in his pocket. He took out his phone, reading the message:

_ Craig _ 💕 _ : u wanna get outta here? _

Tweek looked up at Craig, nodding. They slipped away from the table, unnoticed, holding each other’s hand as they left the cafeteria. 

He didn’t care where they were going, if they were going to get caught, or if the other guys were going to notice that they left them behind with Cartman. As long as he was by Craig’s side, he felt like nothing could stop him.

And he was sure Craig felt the same way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAAAAAA thank you all for reading along... the first part is finally finished! :'D
> 
> i can't wait to finish season 20 to post for yall :9
> 
> All feedback is appreciated and welcome!


	11. Feelings and Issues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's almost Tweek and Craig's anniversary, and Craig has some thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to my lovely editor and beta reader tweeksqueak!! <3 pls send them a follow!  
> https://tweeksqueak.tumblr.com/
> 
> Hello! This is my first fanfiction, and I'm really excited to continue this! 
> 
> This fic begins in South Park season 19 and follows Tweek and Craig's perspectives throughout the seasons, as well as their relationship.
> 
> If you aren't already, get caught up in season 20 because this chapter starts in that season!
> 
> My tumblr: https://jimvalmers.tumblr.com/

One more month.

It's only a couple of week until his anniversary with Tweek.

Craig hadn’t realized how long it had been, but apparently, time does fly when you’re with someone you really like. Like, _really_ like. Someone you like so fucking much you both have a copy each other’s house keys.

They had pretty much been attached at the hip since Craig finally found the guts to admit how he felt about Tweek. It wasn’t like he wanted to be a shitty communicator, but he couldn’t help it. He tried to make up for it by actions instead. He would listen to all of Tweek’s weird ramblings. Not because he was forced to, no, but because he liked to do so. They were pretty interesting, even if they literally made no sense from a realistic standpoint. But, hey, Tweek seemed more confident after venting his thoughts, so Craig didn’t care what the hell he was saying.

Anyway, Craig felt great about their relationship. Hell, he’d go so far to say that Tweek was The One. Actually – he’d never say that out loud. God, how fucking embarrassing! He would just keep it stored in his thoughts forever. That sounded good.

His parents liked Tweek, and his sister–for some reason–looked up to Tweek. Stripe #3 accepted Tweek as his father, which Craig was _sooo_ happy about. Not that a guinea pig could dictate his feelings towards Tweek, but still, it meant a lot.

Everything should have been perfect. He and Tweek really liked each other, South Park started treating them like normal kids again, his gang was back together and there were no clouds in the goddamn sky. So why the hell was he mulling over his thoughts? Well...

Craig knew he’s not perfect. Humans can never be satisfied by their wants, and Craig was starting to feel like he wanted… a little more. To say it bluntly, he wanted to take his relationship with Tweek to the next level.

Or as Clyde beautifully put it, “You look like you want to smash faces with Tweek.”

Look, it wasn’t his fault. He just realized that he’d been staring at Tweek’s face a lot more than usual recently, especially while Tweek was talking. He almost felt bad for zoning out and ogling  Tweek’s long lashes, the freckles over his nose, the little gap between his front teeth… _Fuck!_ He sounded like a complete creep.

Well, he definitely needed to do something about it soon or else they’ll be like, a hundred years old and still only holding hands.

* * *

Craig ran towards Tweek, moving around the adults and other students who were all exiting the gymnasium. When he reached Tweek, he placed a hand on his back, feeling him tense up. Tweek whipped around towards Craig with wide eyes, which changed into a pout when he saw his face.

“Craig! I told you not to that, man!” Tweek said, pushing him away slightly, giggling under his breath. Craig tumbled back, but returned to Tweek’s side, intertwining their fingers. “I didn’t know you were going to watch the girl’s protest.”

“Come on, I know how much this means to you,” Craig scoffed. Their arms rocked slightly as they walked. “Of course I did.”

As much as Craig didn’t give a flying fuck about the girls, he still knew that Tweek was close with them. Craig guessed Wendy or someone else added him to their group chat a few months ago, because ever since then he’d been going to all their events, hanging out at the lunch table with them, even going so far to plan double dates with them–much to Craig’s dismay. Sorry– but he couldn’t stand girl-gossip or all of their relationship advice. But he kept his mouth shut for Tweek’s sake.

“Honestly, I thought you were going to stay and watch their game.”

Craig snickered under his breath when Tweek grimaced.

“ _Urrrgh._.. Don’t even suggest that. You couldn’t pay me to sit through even one of those games.”

Craig gave a short laugh, shaking his head. God, Tweek was so amazing. Craig really needed to get over himself.

He stared at Tweek’s face, watching him cover his mouth to hide a giggle, though his shoulders were still shaking from laughter. Craig licked his lips nervously.

‘All you have to do is just kiss him. Or call him something you heard Dad call Mom – what the hell did he say again? _Honey?_ God, I’m about to barf. Tell him he’s cute, _anything_ _–_ ’

“You wanted to go on a date, didn’t you?” Tweek asked, stopping in his tracks. Before Craig could even respond, he continued. “I’m sorry, I gotta head back with my dad to the shop. But I’ll call you later, alright?”

Tweek wrapped his arms around Craig’s neck, pulling him close for a hug, while Craig stood there still.

Fuck, he missed his chance– _again._

Whatever, he wasn’t gonna get in a mood because of it. Instead, he ruffled Tweek’s hair, smirking when he began to whine. Tweek batted his hands away and pulled away from the hug.

“Jerk!” Tweek ran his fingers through those messy curls of his with a sulk and turned around to walk back to his dad’s car. “Bye, Craig!”

Craig gave a brief wave goodbye, before stuffing his hands deep into the pockets of his jacket.

Well, fuck.

* * *

“You did _what_ to Tweek?!”

Craig slapped a hand over Clyde’s mouth, growling and glaring at him.

“Holy fuck, why don’t you tell the whole fucking school while you’re at it? I can’t tell you anything without you overreacting!”

Craig glanced around the hallway, removing his hand from Clyde when he was sure no one was staring at them. Stan and Kyle were walking ahead of them, but thankfully they hadn’t turned around to look. Usually, they liked the shove their noses in everything. Craig would rather not have to explain his personal shit to people he hates.

“Sorry, sorry! I… wow!” Clyde shook his head in disbelief. They continued walking towards their next class in uncomfortable silence until Clyde spoke up again.“You just stood there. And didn’t do anything. Craig, I’m legally allowed to make fun of you for this! Even _I_ have kissed my girlfriend, and we’ve been together for like… uh…”

Craig rolled his eyes, groaning under his breath. This is it: the lowest point of his life. He was getting made fun of by Clyde, and Craig couldn’t do anything to him, because Clyde was right. Jesus, he really was fucking up like crazy.

“Look, don’t scold me about this. I don’t want to rush things, and if Tweek doesn’t want to do it, I won’t do anything.”

“Come on Craig, you can’t sit around and wait for him to make a move. Sometimes you gotta take the wheel! Girls always like it when you do that. I mean, Lisa _loves_ it when I do, so Tweek would too. Maybe.”

“Uh-huh.”

Clyde continued, not realizing the sarcasm dripping from Craig’s tone. “I’m gonna give you a tip, since you’re like my best bro. You gotta do something that really sweeps him off his feet, like… Oh! Act all badass in front of him! You’ll become so irresistible, he won’t be able to help to want to kiss you, dude. It’s like, bees attracted to honey. Or bears. I think Tweek is more like a bee, though...”

Craig curled his lip in disgust, trying to understand what the _hell_ Clyde was saying.

“...Badass. And aren’t bees attracted to flowers?”

“Yeah!” Clyde exclaimed, completely ignoring his question. “You two could have been smashing at your place today if you weren’t such a pussy.”

“Clyde, what the fuck!”

“What? Didn’t Tweek get a copy of _Smash_ when it came out?”

Craig groaned again when Clyde gave him a shit-eating grin. No, no, no! He did not deserve this torture. He shoved Clyde’s shoulder, watching him stumble.

“I’m never taking advice from you again.”

Before Clyde could retort they heard loud laughing from down the hallway. Butters walked towards them, giggling at something on his phone.

“You guys! Y'all see what that new troll did to Heidi Turner’s mom?”

Craig and Clyde looked at him with confusion, but Craig was intrigued. Alright, he’d bite.

“What?”

Butters wheezed out another fit of laughter before finally speaking. “He put a dick in Heidi’s mom’s mouth!”

Craig's eyes widened, sharing a look with Clyde. “I wanna see.”

All the other boys outside the classroom crowded around Butters. He turned his phone to show everyone, and they all burst into laughter at the sight of the picture. Craig almost felt bad for laughing. It was just… so shitty and perfect.

“And he also did Wendy’s mom! Look!”

“Goddammit, that’s enough!”

They all groaned as Kyle snatched the phone out of Butters’ hand.

“Come on guys, what if this was any of our moms? How do you think you would feel?”

Craig rolled his eyes. He did know how it felt. All his friends made fun of his mom so hard he still grimaced every time he sees a drone. But here's the thing– he doesn’t give a shit about anyone else. If you’re getting shat on, you gotta take the punches.

“ _We_ didn’t do it, dude,” Craig muttered. He shared a meaningful look with Clyde. At least someone agreed with him that Kyle was talking out of his ass.

“But we know who did!” Kyle yelled back at him.

Craig gave him a stony look. It was pretty obvious that Cartman was fucking with the girls with this troll account, so why did the rest of them have to clean up his mess? Craig would rather sit back and watch the fire from a distance with his boyfriend.

Everyone turned their heads as they heard yelling from down the hallway. Well, speak of the fucking devil. Cartman was running towards them, covering his face. Butters ran to him, placing a hand on his back.

“Eric! What happened to you?”

“Oh God, it was horrible! The girls! They cornered me in the gym and said all boys needed to pay!” His yelling caused a gathering of the boys in the hallway to see what the commotion was. “They started hitting me and _–_ and they held me down and drew a vagina on my face!”

Cartman removed his hands from his face, showing everyone the… vagina? Okay, it had balls on it. Goddammit.

“They said it’s a message to all the boys!”

“Woah… That’s a vagina?” Clyde quietly asked Craig, who stared at him with a blank look.

“Yeah! Oh God, it’s starting, you guys! No boy is safe anymore!”

Craig had already lost interest at this point. He could already tell that Kyle was about to explode at Cartman by the way his face scrunched up in anger. Cartman was obviously guilty as hell, but the question was why he would want to start a war between the boys and the girls. It all sounded pretty pointless to Craig. Anyway, he had more important things to worry about than a bunch of girls drawing ballsack-vaginas on people's faces.

He nudged Clyde’s shoulder to get his attention, tilting his head to suggest they should try to get out of this whole mess. Clyde gave a worried look but dutifully followed Craig down the hallway. When Craig heard Kyle’s ear-piercing shouting behind him, he knew he had made the right choice.

“Dude, Craig, what if… what if Cartman’s being serious?”

Craig looked at Clyde with an exasperated look, but relaxed when he saw the expression of genuine worry on his face. Guess this was actually freaking him out. Craig sighed, patting Clyde’s shoulder.

“Come on, you really think the girls think we have anything to do with that troll? Lisa likes you, right? You two will be fine.”

“Yeah… I guess you’re right.”

Craig hoped he was right. He rather not be dealing with this during one of the most crucial moments in his relationship.

* * *

Craig threw a popcorn kernel at the back of Tricia’s head, snickering when she yelled out.

“Hey, what the fuck!”

“Language, Tricia!”

Craig snickered even more when Tricia stared at their mom with a gaping mouth. She gave him her middle finger, glaring at him, before turning back to her phone.

His family was getting ready for the game to start. Craig laid on the couch, shoving popcorn in his mouth as he checked his Twitter. Apparently, Mr. Garrison was going to be in the audience _–_ or so Tweek had told him. He didn’t really give a shit about politics, but Tweek was obsessed with it. He guessed a lot was at stake since Mr. Garrison basically represented South Park and all of its shittiness.

“Come on boy, sit up straight!”

His dad pushed his legs off of the couch, so he had no choice but to scoot over to make room for his parents.

The announcers for the game commented on the Presidential candidates, who waved to the camera, and then the National Anthem began to play.

“ _For our National Anthem, we now ask you all in solidarity to please rise_ …”

Craig smirked as he watched some of the players remain kneeling, garnering attention from the audience just like when the girls remained sitting during the anthem at their game.

“… _Or sit, or take a knee, in order to honor America_.”

Wait, what?

“ _And J.J. Abrams has absolutely shattered expectations, Mike!”_ the commentator said. _“Now whether people are standing, sitting, or kneeling, they are all honoring America. J.J. Abrams is a wizard, Tom. A wizard._ ”

Craig’s whole family sat silently in shock, watching the crowd and players erupt into mass confusion, before finally electing to take a seat. Craig felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He didn't take his eyes off the TV as he answered.

“ _Craig! Oh my God, are you watching the game?! Did you see what happened? Arrrgh! I think_ _–_ _I think the girls_ _– shit, they're mad-_ _holy shit! What the hell is happening?! AAAAAH!”_

Tweek abruptly ended the call, cutting his scream off.

The one time Craig hadn't expected something crazy to happen, it did.

Shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a??? month!!!! since i last posted! but im glad im finished now, i can finally post for season 20!! hurrah!!
> 
> All feedback is appreciated and welcome!


	12. Did you hear the news?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to my lovely editor and beta reader tweeksqueak!! <3 pls send them a follow!  
> https://tweeksqueak.tumblr.com/
> 
> Hello! This is my first fanfiction, and I'm really excited to continue this!
> 
> This fic begins in South Park season 19 and follows Tweek and Craig's perspectives throughout the seasons, as well as their relationship.
> 
> If you aren't already, get caught up in season 20 because this chapter is in that season!

Well, Craig hadn’t expected this to happen.

He should’ve known, to be honest. Life always seemed to throw curveballs at him. But this time, he wasn’t ready at all. Craig had only been thinking of himself and Tweek. Their relationship was the most important thing to him at the time. He couldn't give less of a shit about anyone else around them, or their problems.

But after last night...

Tweek hadn’t texted anything to Craig after the distressing phone call. It upset Craig, if he was being honest, but he knew Tweek needed some time to reflect on everything– alone. It stung worse than he thought it would.

Maybe he was being selfish, but he got a crawling feeling in the back of his neck when Tweek ignored his texts.

He had, eventually, received a text from Tweek. It was only a link to an article from the school’s website. Craig was kind of pissed that this was the only thing Tweek texted him after a whole day of no communication, but all his anger dissipated when he read the title:

_“Eleven year old Heidi Turner from South Park elementary has quit technology after frequent trolling.”_

He tugged his chullo on, sending a text back to Tweek before shrugging on his backpack.

_Craig: meet me before class starts._

* * *

 

Craig ran out of the school bus when the doors swung open, looking around for Tweek in the school building. He had found him, anxiously standing by the lockers closest to the front doors, and their eyes locked.

Tweek sprinted towards Craig, burying his face into his shoulder, breath hitching.

“I’m sorry– I’m so sorry! I should’ve texted, called, something– _Ghh!”_

Craig shushed him softly, hands moving up to cup Tweek’s face, looking into his eyes. They were shining with tears about to spill, and his eyebrows were furrowed, his teeth gritted.

At that moment, only one thought was in Craig’s head:

He wanted to kiss him.

Everything was set in place, like the world was begging him to lean in and finally kiss him.

But, he couldn’t.

Instead, he rubbed the creases in Tweek’s forehead, trying to relax his expression. “Don’t blame yourself for this. You deserve a break, I can handle a day without talking if it’s for your health.”

Tweek smiled softly, his shoulders untensing. “Craig… I shouldn’t keep you in the dark like that. I’ll try better next time!”

Craig took one of Tweek’s hands in his own, rolling his thumb over Tweek’s knuckles.

“It’s okay. You’re alright now, right?”

“Y-yeah– Actually, no!” Tweek clutched his shirt, his eye twitching slightly. “I need you to come with me!”

“Sure. But why?”

“Mr. Mackey’s group counseling,” Tweek said. He began to tremble, his breathing growing faster. “I really want to go b-because I care about Heidi, but I’m too scared to go alone! What if the other girls there see me?! I’ll never be able to face them! _Ack!”_

“Why not? What happened to them?”

Tweek ground his teeth, his voice speeding up as he spoke. “They don’t want to talk to me anymore because I’m a guy and they don’t trust me – _nnngh –_ for some reason! Please, Craig, I’m begging you!”

Craig pursed his lips, thinking. To be honest, he didn’t want to go. He didn’t really care about Heidi, and he knew that if he went, he was gonna see Wendy and her little clique. After what they did to Tweek, those were the last people he wanted to see. But, this meant a lot to Tweek, and he would be the worst type of boyfriend if he ditched him like that. So, he held back his comments.

“Alright, Tweek. I’ll come with you. We can sit together, far away from the girls, alright?” Craig tried to project an aura of calmness, and it seemed to work. Gradually, Tweek's body relaxed, and he nodded.

“Th-that sounds like a good idea!” Tweek exclaimed. “Thanks, Craig, it means a lot.”

They both shared a smile, and Craig felt his cheeks warm up.

* * *

 

This was brutal.

Craig crossed his arms impatiently as Mr. Mackey’s speech about Heidi droned on, while girls sniffled and cried around him. He glanced at Tweek, who was sitting beside him. Tweek was looking into his folded hands with watery eyes, his head twitching slightly every few minutes.

Damn, this was harsh. And, almost ironically, the girl everyone was crying over was sitting to his left, completely silent. Craig turned that direction and noticed that someone was glaring at him.

It was Wendy.

He raised an eyebrow at her, confused. Wait, was she mad at him? What the hell did he do? Craig watched her turn her head away, glaring daggers at the floor. He noticed some of the other girls staring venomously at their phones, as if… they were plotting something.

Holy shit.

“So now, why don’t we all get on Twitter, m’kay, and just tweet some of the things we loved about Heidi, m’kay?”

Craig turned back to the counselor, sighing under his breath as he took out his phone and typed out a meaningless tweet directed at Heidi, watching his page flood with tweets and pictures. Tweek let out a soft whimper next to him, sniffling as he scrolled down his phone.

Craig could only sit down and ask himself, ‘What the hell is going on?’

* * *

 

 _Tweek_ ❤️: _ull come ovr later rite?????_

_Craig: duh. dont fall asleep before_

_Tweek_ ❤️ _: ok!!! see u!!!!! :)_

_Craig: ttyl <3 _

 

Craig smiled to himself, covering it with a cough as he shoved his phone back into his pocket. He looked at the other guys, who were pacing around nervously in the bathroom.

It seemed like Cartman hadn’t stopped fucking with the girls.

Now, Craig didn’t care about the girls at all, or the fact that some guy was trolling them. It was actually pretty funny at first; but now, it was too fucking much. Everyone had gotten all paranoid, and more importantly, it was making Tweek more anxious than usual. And for what? A laugh?

Well, he wasn’t fucking laughing anymore.

“Maybe the girls will call off whatever they’re doing if we prove it’s all Cartman’s doing!” Kyle said.

Craig clicked his tongue, had expecting Kyle to try to find a diversion to the problem- an easy way out. He knew better than that.

“We would never be able to prove that it’s him. You know that.” Craig looked around at the others, who nodded nervously. “We have to make him stop!”

“He… He’s not gonna stop. He wants all the girls to hurt us, for s-some reason!” Butters said, anxiously.

No one else said anything until Clyde spoke up.

“Then let’s end it.”

Craig was taken by surprise. Clyde's face was completely blank, a stark difference from how emotive he usually was.

“W-what do you mean?” Jimmy asked, sounding concerned.

“Cartman is the cause of all of this. Of all our problems. You guys know it. Come on, you guys know what we have to do this. He went too far this time.”

Kyle spoke up. “Clyde, we shouldn’t. Then we’d just be stooping to his–”

“He’s right,” Stan interrupted. He crossed the room to stand by Clyde.

“Stan,” Kyle said in disbelief, “you don’t really think–”

“What else can we do?” Stan snapped at Kyle. He pointed an accusing finger at him. “You know Cartman better than anybody here, so don’t give me that shit. This is the only thing we can do to make him stop.”

Craig turned towards Token, who met his eyes and gave a nod, balling his fists like he was ready to deal with Cartman right then and there.

“He pushed everyone too far. We gotta do it,” Token said.

Craig pursed his lips, locking eyes with Clyde. _Shit_ , he thought, Clyde wanted him to come as well. And there was no way he could get out of it, not when his whole gang was in.

“Okay, but how would we get away with it?” Craig asked Stan, who furrowed his eyebrows in thought.

“We do it in the woods. Deep in the woods. I know how to get him to go with us.”

* * *

Craig shoved his keys back into his pocket as he ran up the stairs to Tweek’s room. He knocked on the door lightly, feeling amused when he heard a startled yelp from within. Tweek opened his door, letting Craig in. Craig kicked over the scattered LEGOs on the floor, falling onto Tweek’s bed. Tweek sat next to him, pouting.

“Where were you? It’s late!”

“Last time I checked, it’s only 5 pm.”

“Still! _Nghh–_ I was worried, jerk!”

Craig groaned as he stretched out his back, sitting up. He took Tweek’s hand and looked into his eyes. “Uh, look. Me and the guys had to talk about something important.”

“Oh.” Tweek stayed silent for a moment, fidgeting with Craig’s hand. “What– what were you guys talking about?”

Craig let out a breath through his teeth, grimacing.   “So… we have a plan,” Craig said slowly. He saw Tweek tense up. “In… in an hour we’re all going to go out into the woods with Cartman and…”

“Craig.”

“We told him that it’s gonna be this slumber party where we all play _Counter-Strike_ but–”

“W-what?”

“We’re gonna smash his stuff.”

Craig watched Tweek’s eyes widen, clearly taken aback.

“I gotta go, Tweek. But I figured I should tell you first.”

“Wh– but Craig! What if you get caught! What if–”

“Tweek! We won’t get caught if everyone stays fucking quiet about it.”

“N-no way! That’s insane! _Gnnh–_ You can’t be serious!”

“Don’t you want everything to go back to how it was before? It’s all Cartman’s fault the girls are lashing out on you. I can’t sit around and watch it happen.”

Tweek bit his bottom lip, his eyes flickering around as if he was mulling over his thoughts.

“What if you get hurt?” Tweek asked, leaning closer.

Craig interlaced his fingers with Tweek’s.

“I won’t.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

Tweek inhaled, and then nodded slowly. “O-okay. Christ… You’re really going to do this…”

“I have to. Clyde would never forgive me if I wimped out.”

Craig’s eyes flickered down to Tweek’s lips, looking back into his eyes. This would be a good moment, right? Craig took in a shaky breath, leaning more towards Tweek, only to feel arms wrap around his neck tightly, bringing him into a hug.

“Please come back here after you’re done. I-I don’t know what I would do if you got hurt!”

Craig sighed as he ran his fingers through Tweek’s hair, hugging him back with his other arm.

“Of course, I’ll come back as soon as possible.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for continuing to stick with me! whoever is still reading lolol


	13. Heres the plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to my lovely editor and beta reader tweeksqueak!! <3 pls send them a follow!  
> https://tweeksqueak.tumblr.com/
> 
> Hello! This is my first fanfiction, and I'm really excited to continue this!
> 
> This fic begins in South Park season 19 and follows Tweek and Craig's perspectives throughout the seasons, as well as their relationship.
> 
> If you aren't already, get caught up in season 20 because this chapter is in that season!

“How much further now?” Cartman asked.

Craig clutched the straps on his backpack tighter, inhaling sharply. They were really going to do this, huh? He hadn’t realized how hard it was going to be. It was kind of unfair to Cartman, honestly. If they were going to destroy all of Cartman’s shit, he had been hoping it was going to be an actual fight, not this cheap sneak attack.

“We’re almost there, Cartman. You see?” Stan said to Cartman, pointing towards a cabin that was surrounded by in dead leaves.

Craig watched Stan jog up to the cabin, twisting the lock and letting the door creak open. He let Cartman step inside first, eyeing all the others and giving them a nod. Once everyone was inside, Craig heard someone shut the door, and on cue, they all pulled weapons from their bags. He unsheathed his dad’s army knife. Next to him, Clyde clutched a hammer tightly in his fists.

Cartman messed around on his laptop, unaware of what was happening around him.

“Hey you guys, there’s no... wifi…” Cartman’s voice trailed off as he turned around and finally noticed them.

“The girls are planning something, Cartman, because of you. We’re going to have to do this the hard way,” Clyde said in an unnerving tone, taking a step closer towards Cartman.

“Wh-what are you talking… Clyde– What–”

“You brought this on yourself, Cartman. We told you to stop, and you didn’t listen, so now we have to take matters in our own hands,” Stan said, slowly, stepping closer as well.

“O-oh my God. Oh my God, you guys are… No way, you guys are gonna break all my stuff! Wha–”

“Fuck! Just put your stuff down and step back, before you get hurt,” Kyle snapped, but it only made Cartman freak out more.

“Wait– please guys! Please don’t break my stuff! You guys can’t do this– Come on! Please!” Cartman stammered out excuses, clutching his electronics closer to his chest. His words became more frantic and high-pitched as the others closed in.

Clyde groaned loudly, squeezing his eyes shut. “I…  I can’t listen to this!”

“Please, Clyde! Clyde, you’re my friend! Y-you– This is so fucked up! You know! I need all this stuff!”

Craig grit his teeth, digging his nails into the handle of his knife. He couldn’t take this any longer; all the blubbering and pleading was starting to fuck with his head. He walked up to Cartman, who spun to face him, eyes wide and fearful.

“Let’s just get it over with!” Craig yelled.

“No– Please! I won’t– Craig you know, how can I-I–”

With a grunt, Craig plunged the knife through the laptop's screen. Cartman made an ear-piercing scream, causing Craig to wince. Craig forced the knife deeper in, to the sound of the others finally throwing all of Cartman’s things onto a table, smashing it into tiny pieces.

Craig yanked the laptop from Cartman’s weak grasp, smashing it over his knee. He threw it onto the table to join the other destroyed electronics.

“Oh, fuck!” someone yelled.

Craig turned around to watch Cartman fall to the floor.

“Oh shit… He passed out,” Token mumbled.

He looked back at the others, who all shared the same, horrified face. Craig dropped his knife to run his fingers through his hair.

“Well, someone’s gonna have to hide all the evidence,” he said.

* * *

Craig sat, waiting silently, on the floor of the corridor outside the music room.

He’d been doing nothing but staring at his own hands, waiting for the time to pass, when the door finally creaked open. Craig stood, looking towards Tweek, who looked back.

“Here, let me get that for you.” Craig didn't wait for him to answer before he took the textbooks that Tweek was carrying. He gave a smile, and Tweek smiled weakly back, moving a stray curl of his hair behind his ear in an endearing gesture.

“Thank you.”

Craig took Tweek’s hand, walking with him through the empty hallways. The music room was probably the most remote room in the entire school, all the way up on the third floor, farthest from the stairs. He didn’t mind walking this far for him, though, since Tweek really enjoyed the class. He was an amazing pianist, even if he would say otherwise.

Craig broke the silence on the second-floor stairwell. “I’m still sorry it didn’t work out.”

Tweek whipped his head around, his eye twitching as he whimpered. “C-Craig! Don’t apologize… I thought it was Cartman too! _Ghhn–_ I feel so horrible knowing someone’s still out there, fucking with all my friends!”

Craig let out a sigh, feeling guilty. He came to a stop, turning towards Tweek.

“I wish I could’ve done something for you,” Craig said. “I feel like shit watching this all happen and not being able to do something about it.”

Tweek bit his lip, holding onto Craig’s hand tighter. “Come on, Craig. Um… It really sucks, but, I-I think it’s beyond our power to deal with, you know?”

Craig nodded, but kept a frown on his face. Tweek swayed their arms slowly, curling a lock of his hair with his finger. “And, you already do so much for me, man. I-I can’t expect you to find this troll guy! What if he was an actual troll under a bridge, or something?! You could seriously get hurt!” Tweek spoke in a panicked tone, which made Craig snicker.

“Yeah, but I would go there and kick his ass for you anyway.” Craig leaned in closer, sharing a laugh with Tweek.

When the two finished laughing, they smiled at each other. The silence between them wasn’t as awkward as before. Instead, it was content.

Craig’s eyes flickered towards Tweek’s lips, and unlike times before, he saw Tweek’s cheeks redden, and Craig tensed up. Oh, shit, did Tweek catch him staring at his mouth like some sort of weirdo?

His thoughts halted when he noticed Tweek’s eyes flicker down his face as well. Tweek’s lips curled into a slight smile. As if some force was controlling him, Craig’s head moved on its own, slowly leaning closer to Tweek, his eyes fluttering closed as he turned his head just slightly–

“ _CRAAIG!”_

No, no, no.

He felt Tweek jolt away from him, and the sound of someone running towards them, sniveling to themselves. He snapped his head to whoever ruined his fucking chance with Tweek– and huffed when he realized it was Clyde. That bastard.

Clyde fell onto him, sobbing against the collar of his shirt.

“L-Li-Lisa– She– Sh– She _broke up with me!”_

He broke into a loud wail, soaking Craig’s coat with his snot and tears. Craig groaned out in disgust when he heard a loud sniffle.

Tweek gasped, coming closer to comfort Clyde. He started to pat his back, squeaking when Clyde turned towards him, hugging him tightly.

“Tweeek, c-comfort meee! Y-yo-you’re nicer than Craig!”

Tweek laughed awkwardly, grimacing towards Craig. Craig figured it was because Clyde’s tears immediately soaked his shirt too.

“I-it’s okay, Clyde. What did she s–”

“All of the gi-girls!” Clyde cut Tweek off, sounding close to hyperventilating. “T-that’s what their plan was! Th-they all– all of them, they went to all th-their–”

“Oh my god, dude. Get a fucking grip!” Craig yelled, causing Clyde to flinch, and to cower deeper into Tweek’s shirt.

He took some shaky breaths, finally peeling himself away from Tweek. Craig, on instinct, stepped closer to Tweek, glaring at Clyde.

“Okay– I think I-I’m good.” Clyde breathed out once and wiped his nose with his sleeve. “So– all of the girls broke up with their boyfriends! It’s fucking horrible!”

“Bullshit.”

“No– not shit! I’m serious!” Clyde pointed down to the stairwell leading to the first floor. “All the guys are downstairs, I swear!”

Craig and Tweek shared a look of confusion. Craig shrugged, taking Tweek’s hand. They were heading downstairs anyway, so why not check.

The three walked down the stairs in silence. Craig heard sniffling and faint sobbing when they reached the bottom. Tweek gripped his hand tighter as he looked around with a nervous expression.

When they turned the corner, Craig was utterly shocked.

The floor was littered with crumpled pieces of paper, and boys were sprawled across the hallway. Craig pursed his lips, and reluctantly walked down the hall with Tweek, staring at all of the sobbing bodies that were curled up, pathetically. Craig turned towards Clyde, who simply stood there, looking dead inside.

Tweek nudged him. “Is that Stan?” he asked.

Well, shit, it was. Stan was lying on the floor like a corpse, sprawled out. Okay, maybe that was a little too dramatic. Rolling his eyes, Craig pushed Stan’s body aside with his foot to let Tweek walk past.

“Wow, if even Wendy broke up with Stan because of this… This must be a huge deal,” Tweek mused.

Craig nodded. What could he say? There was nothing two gay kids could do by themselves. The damage was already done, and as Craig had thought before, the two would have to watch everything burn from afar.

They exited the school building and shared a loud sigh.

“So, does that mean we’re the only couple in school?”

Tweek gave him a blank look, morphing into one of annoyance when Craig chuckled. Tweek hit his arm lightly with a growl.

“ _Ugh!_ Is that all you have to say?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wooooo more shit is happening and im fucking sleepy.


	14. Okay, here's the real plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to my lovely editor and beta reader tweeksqueak!! <3 pls send them a follow!  
> https://tweeksqueak.tumblr.com/
> 
> Hello! This is my first fanfiction, and I'm really excited to continue this!
> 
> This fic begins in South Park season 19 and follows Tweek and Craig's perspectives throughout the seasons, as well as their relationship.
> 
> If you aren't already, get caught up in season 20 because this chapter is in that season!

He had never felt so determined in his life. Craig splayed out all the magazines that he had stolen from his parents’ room on his bed, pulling a face at one of the covers, which depicted a model in nothing but a swimsuit.

He couldn’t stop thinking about the last time he was alone with Tweek, in that hallway. They had almost kissed! A smile crept up on his face as he remembered how close they had been. It was quickly wiped off, however, when remembered what had happened afterward.

Fucking Clyde.

Well, at least he felt sure that Tweek wanted to kiss him too. It made him nervous. Him, nervous? What a joke. Only Tweek could do that to him.

He took a breath, flipping through the pages until he found one with a caption that read:

_Top ten secret tips for men to make a lady swoon!_

Alright, now we’re getting somewhere. Lists, the one thing girls do right.

He wouldn’t tell anyone, but ever since he had gotten together with Tweek, Craig had been taking any advice he could get on how to be a good boyfriend. His dad had drilled into his head that he should act like a gentleman to his future girlfriends, and this didn't change after he came out as gay, except now this chivalry was to be directed at Tweek. At first, it was embarrassing having to open doors and pull chairs out for him, but after realizing that Tweek liked it, it became instinctual to do these little things for him.

There had also been times when he’d sit in the living room with his mom and force himself to watch those awful chick flicks with her. He hated them. But sometimes he'd imagine himself and Tweek replacing the actors in one of the scenes, and how it would play out. This made them a hundred times more bearable to watch.

Craig let out a snort as he skimmed through the page. It was typical of him to get sidetracked thinking about his boyfriend.

_We asked 300 young women what they’d love for a man to do for them, or to them, and compiled a list of secret tips your man would crave to know!_

He frowned as he read through the tips. A lot of the advice were things he simply couldn’t do. Like, he didn’t have a car! Or a beard! And he wasn’t allowed to go near the kitchen, so cooking something for Tweek was out of the question. Maybe he could buy him something from the vending machine. Would he like that?

They should make a list for gay fourth-graders instead, he thought, scowling at the page. Fuck this. He knew that this was all chick gossip, _obviously_ , but he hoped it could have given him a little insight. But, nope, it was useless. Still, he kept reading.

He'd almost lost all hope when one of the tips caught his attention. He read it to himself in a murmur.

“Number eight, pet names…”

Pet names.

That… didn’t sound like a bad idea. Craig's dad called Mom "honey" every day, and it always seemed to make her smile.

He leaned back until his head hit his pillow. He wondered if Tweek would like being called something cute like that. The two had been together for a long time. Not as long as his parents, of course, but long enough to warrant pet names… right?

Craig took in a deep breath, taking out his phone, and stared at the lock screen. The picture was of Tweek, smiling awkwardly at the camera with Stripe #3 in his hands. Craig’s lips parted slightly.

“Hey, honey,” he tried.

He slapped a hand over his mouth, his cheeks burning. Holy fuck, that was the most awkward shit he’d ever done. Nope, jump ship, jump ship! There was no way he’d be able to call Tweek “honey _”_ without imploding immediately.

He looked at the picture again, imagining Tweek’s reaction. Would he be embarrassed? Would he scream out? Would he… like it?

Craig groaned, tossing the phone onto the bedsheets. There was no way he could do it.

He glanced at the phone, chewing on the inside of his mouth. It was too early to give up – he didn’t want to be stuck in the “holding hands” phase forever.

If only he was more confident – which was written on the list as the third most attractive thing a guy can do – maybe he could’ve kissed Tweek before Clyde interrupted them. Maybe they could’ve kissed way before then.

Craig sighed, picking up his phone to stare at the picture of Tweek again.

Eye contact was another thing established in the list.

He once again took in a breath, collecting himself, and said with full confidence:

“Hey, babe.”

“ _Craig, come downstairs RIGHT NOW!”_

Craig closed his eyes, letting out an annoyed groan. Fuck, why was his mom calling him now?

“Coming!” he yelled back, running out of his room and stomping downstairs. His mom was standing at the bottom of the staircase, hands on her hips, looking pissed off. Craig gave her a blank stare.

“What?” he asked.

“Don’t _what_ me, Craig! Go get your little rat from the kitchen and clean up after it!”

So, Stripe had gotten out of his cage again. Craig wasn’t surprised; the cage was pretty cheap and shitty. This time he hadn't noticed the guinea pig making a break for it. Guess he was pretty distracted.

Craig nodded and stepped into the kitchen, looking around for the guinea pig. Stripe was running around under the table, surrounded by his own poo. Craig caught him before he could escape to the living room.

“I got him,” Craig said, petting Stripe’s neck softly, trying to calm down the guinea pig.

“Craig, I’ve told you time and time again, if you want a pet you have to take care of it yourself!”

“Okay, Mom.”

His mom let out a sigh, shaking her head. She muttered something under her breath, probably about Craig being irresponsible, and told him to go put Stripe back in his cage.

“Don’t expect me to clean up your pet's mess, Craig! I better see you back here in five minutes!”

Craig groaned and flicked her off, running upstairs before she could yell at him again.

* * *

 

Another group meeting. Great.

For the past couple of days, all of the guys had been freaking out about the girls.

He was getting pretty tired of it all. They all did what had to be done, even if they fucked up. Craig had moved on from it, but it seemed he was the only one to do so. The others insisted on coming up with a new plan, and of course, Craig was dragged into it, again. Whatever. At least Tweek was with him this time, which made it all a little more bearable.

During recess, they had all gathered in a half-circle on the playground. In the center of it, Kyle paced back and forth, treading down the fresh snow. He seemed deeply bothered.

“So, guys,” he began. “For the past days, I’ve been thinking. We need to show the girls that we respect them, and that we aren’t against them.” He came to a stop, looking at everyone. “There’s a girl-volleyball game tonight and we should all go and show our support.”

“You really think that’s gonna make a difference?” Stan asked. He sounded dejected, no hope left. Obviously, he still wasn't over Wendy breaking up with him.

“I do! We need to show the girls that all boys _aren’t_ the same and that we are willing to change.”

Butters walked up to Kyle, jabbing a finger in his face.

“Well, why don’t you just shut the fuck up, Kyle?”

Kyle stood, shocked, as Butters spoke to the group. “All I’ve been hearing in the past few weeks is how this is our problem, how _boys_ need to change. Well, I’m gettin’ pretty sick of it! Everyone else seems to be able to be proud of who they are, but not us!” He turned to Kyle again. “And then we got Uncle Kyle here tellin’ us the girls are right!”

“Butters!” Kyle yelled out.

“This is a war on all of us!” Butters began walking closer to where Craig was standing. “You want to listen to Uncle Kyle? Go ahead.”

He pointed at Tweek which made him flinch. Craig frowned.

Butters went on, “Pretty soon they’ll be locking us all up. And don’t think you’re safe either, Tweek ‘n Craig. Just ‘cause you’re gay doesn’t mean you aren’t looked down upon for being boys!”

If there was one thing that always pissed Craig off, it was people messing with Tweek. He took Tweek's hand in his and felt the way he trembled. Butter's speech was clearly getting to him.

“Butters, you need to calm do–” Kyle started, but Butters cut him off again.

“No! We tried doing it your way, Kyle! We tried doin’ what the girls wanted us to do, and where did it get us?”

“Nowhere…” Clyde mumbled, kicking the snow from his shoes.

“Right! It turned us against one of our own, that’s what it did! What happened to Eric Cartman is the girls’ fault, not ours!”

The group muttered amongst themselves, agreeing with what Butters had said. Craig too saw the point he was trying to make. If the girls hadn't made such a huge fuss they never would have smashed all of Cartman's things – though it was fun doing it.

“I’m done feelin’ guilt!” Butters went on. “I’m a boy! And you know what, I’m proud of my lil wiener! Mark my words – the moment is coming when y’all need to decide. Are you with your kind, or are you with Uncle Kyle?”

The crowd erupted into cheers and yells, crowding around Butters. They were riled up, as if ready for war. Kyle stared at them, exasperated, unable to sway even Stan to his cause. Craig almost felt bad for him. But the guy was starting to piss them all off.

* * *

 

Okay, scratch what he said before. The thing that pissed him off _the most_ was when people interrupted his conversations with Tweek.

“Hey, dudes!” Clyde ran up to the two, followed by Token and Jimmy. “You guys know what the plan is tonight, right?”

“Wait, what plan? _Gah!”_

Token’s eyebrows rose. He stepped closer to Tweek, who flinched. “Are you serious? Wait, are you even in the Movement?”

“No, what! What movement? Craig!”

Craig groaned, pushing Token back slightly, creating some space for Tweek. “Alright, you guys need to fucking relax and explain what the hell's going on.”

“Well, Butters devised a whole p-plan for all the guys to protest during the volleyball game tomorrow,” Jimmy said.

Craig blinked, confused, and glanced at Tweek.

Tweek nibbled on his bottom lip. “Oh. That sounds… crazy!”

“Wait, wait,” Clyde said.“You two are coming, right? You _have_ to come. We need all the guys in this!”

Craig gave Clyde a grimace, shoving one of his hands into his pocket. He wanted to say no, wanted to turn and walk away with Tweek and stay out of the whole thing. But, everyone’s eyes were on the two of them, pleading.

The more he thought about it, the more he realized that this was probably the last thing the boys could do to save face. They were innocent, but the girls were unfairly punishing them all for one guy's faults.

And as much as he thought Butters was being a dipshit, he was right about the girls. Tweek had been excommunicated from their group long before the whole breakup fiasco, even though he clearly would never agree with what the troll was doing.

“I’m in…!”

Craig whipped his head towards Tweek, shocked. Tweek had a determined look on his face, his grip on Craig’s hand tightening.

Oh shit, he didn’t think Tweek would want to join in too. Well, now he _had_ to go.

“I’m in too. What do we need to do?” Craig asked. Token, Jimmy, and Clyde broke into relieved smiles. Craig held back a grunt when Clyde slapped him on the back.

“Let me explain as we walk, my dear friend.”

“Don’t call me that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> urgh craigs such a nerd... he curses sm more than tweek LOL


	15. Stepping back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to my lovely editor and beta reader tweeksqueak!! <3 pls send them a follow!  
> https://tweeksqueak.tumblr.com/
> 
> Hello! This is my first fanfiction, and I'm really excited to continue this!
> 
> This fic begins in South Park season 19 and follows Tweek and Craig's perspectives throughout the seasons, as well as their relationship.
> 
> If you aren't already, get caught up in season 20 because this chapter is in that season!

Craig sat on the bleachers, watching as more students and parents entered the gymnasium, the chatter in the room grew louder. Craig turned to Tweek, who sat in his seat awkwardly, shuffling every few seconds. Craig nudged him slightly to get his attention, which made him squawk.

“You okay?”

“ _GAH!_ No– I think I’m gonna die here!” Tweek yelled, pulling at his shirt, eye twitching.

“Tweek.” Craig tried to sound calm. He laid a hand on Tweek’s shoulder. “You’re not going to die.”

Tweek tensed under his touch. “But, Craig! They want us to stand up and actually– I can’t believe I agreed to this! Oh my God!”

“The National Anthem is only a couple of minutes long, and then we can leave and watch a movie together, okay?” Craig tried to reason with Tweek, but it was to no avail.

“Nnngh! I know. But, Craig! Wendy… She’s staring...” He squeaked, cowering slightly. Craig looked down at the court and realized that Wendy really was staring in their direction, but when she saw him looking back she turned away to talk to the other girls.

Craig cursed under his breath, but still tried to reassure Tweek. He ran a hand along Tweek's shoulder, up to the back of his neck and into his hair. Tweek shivered, but Craig felt his body slowly relax under his touch.

“Tweek, we’re going to be fine. We can’t back down from this now, anyway.”

“Oh,  _God…”_

“Hey, I’m right here with you, aren’t I?” Craig gave a small smile, patting Tweek’s back softly. “If Wendy starts shit with you, I’ll be your bodyguard.”

“What? I don’t want you two to fight! Plus, she’d probably beat you!”

“Excuse me?”

Tweek hid a smile behind his hand, giggling to himself. Craig pinched his neck. He squealed. He puffed his cheeks, and punched Craig on the shoulder, yelling, “Jerk!”

The two stopped what they were doing when they heard the referee blow his whistle, and the tap of a microphone sounding through the speakers. The commentator said:

_“And now, please sit, stand, or kneel for the National Anthem.”_

As the National Anthem began to play through the speakers, Craig watched Butters, on the bleachers across the gymnasium, undo his zipper and pull down his pants. He snorted when he heard Tweek groan, sharing a look with him. Tweek grimaced, while Craig tried to keep a nonchalant expression.

They stood up together, one thought going through Craig’s head:

Here goes nothing.

* * *

The schooldays that followed were interesting, to say the least.

Butters had organized multiple rallies throughout the week, and Craig had partaken in all of them. This was most likely going to be the only time he could do something as outrageous as pulling down his pants in the middle of a hallway and _not_ get in trouble for it, so he sure as hell wouldn’t miss out on it.

He didn’t give a fuck what the purpose of the rallies was, honestly. They had, at least, gotten his friends out of their post-breakup moods. They could all finally hang out together and watch TV without Clyde bursting into tears because he saw some fat chick that reminded him of Lisa. Craig had been so close to shoving his head down a toilet to shut him up.

More guys had joined the Movement to the point where the whole school was divided between girls and boys. The whole thing had Craig riled up. He’d flicked off at least five girls just this morning, and it felt good because he wasn’t getting punished at all for it. “It’s a peaceful protest!” – a bullshit lie, but Mr. Mackey believed it.

“Okay, after school we all get on _Counter-Strike._ Craig, you listening?”

Craig looked at Clyde in confusion.

“ _Counter-Strike_. After school.” Clyde tugged at one of the flaps of Craig’s chullo. “I swear if I don’t see you online– ”

“Shut up, I’ll be there.”

“You said that last time too, but then you played _Minecraft_ with Tweek for like, 5 hours!”

“Are you stalking me now?”

Jimmy and Token snickered, which made Clyde’s cheeks go red in embarrassment.

“Well, I guess Clyde w-wa-wants to join you in a threesome.”

“Shut up, Jimmy! You guys suck!” Clyde whined, angrily shoving his hands in his pockets.

“Get the fuck away from my locker, asshole!” someone screamed.

The four stopped their conversation, and Craig turned around to see what the commotion was. It was only some dumb girl and Butters. Of course.

Butters was standing with his pants down and his fist in the air, as usual, chin raised to seem taller than Nelly.

“This is a peaceful protest, Nelly,” Butters spoke calmly, which seemed to piss her off even more.

“I don’t give a shit, get away from my locker!”

Butters didn’t move. The students who were watching the scene all gasped when Nelly pushed him out of the way, which made him crash onto the floor. The boys, including Craig, immediately ran to his side, picking him up off the floor. The yells and jeers towards Nelly sounded loudly through the hallway.

“Hey, what the hell?!”

“Don’t let her do that to you, dude!”

“Butters, kick her ass! Don’t take that lying down!”

Nelly balled her hands into fists, snapping back at them all like a feral dog. “Are you fucking serious right now?! I’ll beat the shit out of you!”

Butters, now back on his feet, confidently said, “Oh yeah, bitch? After lunch at recess. Be there and fight me one versus one.”

The boys began to cheer and chant again. Nelly gave an exasperated look.

“Fine! You better not wimp out!”

Craig smirked. This was about to be very interesting.

* * *

“What the hell?” some random kid asked, which was pretty much what they were all wondering, girls and boys alike.

Only a few minutes before, Craig’s heart had been racing, his throat burning from all the yelling he’d done. Butters and Nelly were about to fight, the screaming and chanting from both the girls and the boys growing louder and louder.

It was all stopped by two fucking people. Standing between the girls and boys were Cartman and Heidi.

And if that wasn’t strange enough, the two kissed. A girl actually willingly kissed Cartman. Craig heard some girl screech, and a thud as she hit the ground, unconscious.

His immediate thought was: they had their first kiss before  _me?_

Anyway, something had changed Cartman. Craig knew Cartman well enough to know that under normal circumstances he wouldn't hesitate to join the boys in fucking with the girls. But instead, he seemed optimistic, wanting to end the division between the girls and boys.

If Craig wasn’t so shocked by it all, he’d tell him to fuck off.

“Listen up, everyone. Heidi has this super important plan to get everyone to get along again, and it’s  _super_ amazing,” Cartman said, gazing lovingly at Heidi.

“Aww, stop it, you,” Heidi softly responded, then turned to the crowd. “Y-yeah! I’ve been watching this pretty closely, and I’ve had enough of the fighting!”

“Yeah, tell ‘em, babe!”

“That’s why I organized a school assembly with PC Principal to bring an end to the conflict!” She gave a huge smile, accompanied by Cartman’s clapping.

“You hear that, guys? Heidi is really smart. And really funny.”

“Wait… a school assembly?” Butters asked before the sound of a loud whistle blared throughout the playground.

“She’s right!” PC Principal walked towards everyone, yelling. “Everyone get into the gym or ELSE!”

All of the students were forced into an assembly, groaning from annoyance as they sat on the bleachers. Craig was forced to listen to Cartman and Heidi babble like idiots for an hour about some fundraiser, almost barfing from when the couple acted all lovey-dovey. The worst part was that he actually had to help make danishes for Denmark, or else PC Principal would punish him. Usually, Craig wouldn’t give a fuck, but it had been a while since he'd been called into the office and he didn't want to break the streak.

His phone vibrated in his pocket, and Craig unlocked it to see who was messaging him.

_Tweek 💖: r u gonn com to the shop aftr school???_

Craig felt his cheeks warm slightly from the text. He scoped the bleachers, and spotted Tweek a few rows below from where he was sitting. Craig saw his head twitching slightly. He answered Tweek’s text with a quick “ofc,” and chuckled as he watched Tweek’s head snap downward, back to his phone.

He wouldn’t mind going to this stupid fundraiser as long as Tweek was there with him.

* * *

Craig swung open the door to Tweek Bros. Coffee, hearing the familiar chime of the bell. At the counter, he gave a polite smile to Tweek’s mom, who smiled back at him.

“Oh, Craig!” she said. “Tweek hadn’t told me you were coming!”

“I wanted to pop in and see him, if that’s okay,” he replied.

Craig knew that most adults saw him as a troublemaker, and usually, he didn't give a shit. But his mom had made it very clear to him that he was to be polite and shit to her friends, else she'd get him for it.

“Of course, Craig. Tweek’s cleaning up in the back room right now, so you can talk to him.”

Craig nodded and thanked her, going into the back room. It was a little dark and reeked of coffee. He saw Tweek dusting the tables, adorned in his apron and slippers. Craig smirked, stepping closer to his boyfriend, placing his hands on his shoulders.

“Tweek.”

_“GAAH!”_

Tweek jumped away from him, holding his feather duster close to his chest. He looked downright terrified until he realized who it was, at which point his expression morphed into annoyance. Craig couldn’t stop a laugh from escaping his mouth, which only seemed to fuel Tweek’s rage. Tweek tried to hit him with the duster, but the feathers were so soft that Craig didn't care.

“You are such a jerk! Get out of here– Hey!”

Craig had snatched the feather duster out of Tweek’s hand. He brushed it against Tweek’s face, smiling when he heard him giggling.

“Dude, are you ticklish?”

“Ack! No! G-get away from me with that!”

Tweek screeched as Craig stepped closer and poked his sides. Tweek tried to push him away, but Craig pulled him closer, arms around his waist. His shrieks turned into loud laughter, which Craig found impossible not to join in on.

When they quieted down they were embracing, eyes locked, pink-cheeked, mirrored smiles on their faces.

Craig glanced at Tweek’s lips, leaning closer until his nose was against Tweek’s cheek. He could feel him tremble slightly under him, but he did nothing to stop Craig, or move away. Tweek only leaned closer, a soft giggle escaping his lips, which Craig found adorable, but he wouldn’t say so out loud.

“Tweek? Are you alright back here– Oh my.”

Tweek let out a yelp and pushed Craig away from him, face going bright red.

“Dad! _Auugh!”_

“Well, sorry for barging in! I thought something happened. But please, continue outside of the store if you can. We need all the publicity we can get!”

“Dad, no! Get out!” Tweek howled, tugging at his hair. Tweek’s dad didn’t care, giving a thumbs up before closing the door.

Craig was left alone with Tweek once again, except in a more awkward situation than earlier. Craig ran his fingers through his hair under his chullo, letting out a sigh. Tweek went back to dusting, his twitching ruining any illusion that he was alright.

Damn, he hated seeing Tweek so upset. The tension between them was almost too much to handle. Usually, Craig would walk out of the room when something like this happens, but he couldn’t. Not with Tweek.

Craig took a breath before walking towards Tweek, placing a hand against the table Tweek was dusting. When he coughed for Tweek’s attention, he flinched and looked towards Craig, a hand reaching his apron to clutch it tightly.

“W-What?”

“So, tomorrow everyone’s baking danishes for this fundraiser, right?”

Tweek scoffed. “Yep. I can’t _wait_ to sit next to the girls after what we did to them.”

Craig chuckled softly, scratching the back of his neck.

“Well, you’re going to be wearing that gnome outfit, right?”

Tweek's eyes widened, cheeks flushed red.

“Shut up! It’s not a gnome outfit!”

“Really? Because it looks like a gnome.”

“No, it doesn’t! I don’t want to look like one of them – Auugh!”

“It’s okay, you’ll be the cutest gnome.”

Craig laughed when Tweek glared at him, pouting. Craig reached to poke his cheek, but Tweek swatted him away.

“You are such an asshole,” Tweek said.

“I’m speaking the truth. Anyway, they’re gonna be lucky to have you. You’re an amazing baker.”

“God, shut up.”

“I’m not lying. Remember those cupcakes you made on my birthday?”

Tweek looked down, curling a strand of hair around his finger.

“Yeah…?”

“Well, they tasted so good. Clyde was  _sooo_ jealous.” Craig placed his hand on Tweek’s arm. “You’re really talented.”

Tweek gave a small smile, giggling from what Craig said. He spoke softly. “Thank you, Craig.”

There was a knock at the door, and Tweek’s mom opened it slowly as if to mind their privacy.

“Tweek, we need you out here to help soon. Craig, you run along home now,” she said, in a cheerful tone as usual, before closing the door once again.

Tweek sighed, pushing his sleeves up. “So lame… Sorry, Craig. We can see each other tomorrow on the bus!”

“You’ll be in your gnome outfit, right?”

“No! _Aaargh–_ Shut up and get out of here!”

Craig laughed loudly, walking towards the door. He turned back to speak.

“Bye, Babe, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Babe…?”

Craig almost choked when he realized what he’d let slip out, heart sinking. Shit! 

“YEAH. BYE.”

Craig slammed the door behind him, rushing out of the coffee shop, ignoring Tweek’s parents. He kept walking until he reached the end of the street, where he stopped to let out a shaky breath.

Oh, fuck.

What had he done?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woo hoo! this is finally out... sorry for missing a week!!!


	16. Pizza time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to my lovely editor and beta reader tweeksqueak!! <3 pls send them a follow!  
> https://tweeksqueak.tumblr.com/
> 
> Hello! This is my first fanfiction, and I'm really excited to continue this!
> 
> This fic begins in South Park season 19 and follows Tweek and Craig's perspectives throughout the seasons, as well as their relationship.
> 
> If you aren't already, get caught up in season 20 because this chapter is in that season!

Craig shoved a tray of Danishes into the cafeteria oven to cook. Backtracking, he crossed through the lunchroom, passing by countless tables where kids were working on their assigned jobs, creating messes on the tables and flooring below. He finally reached his designated table, taking his seat next to Clyde to prepare the next tray of Danishes.

“Psst. Craig.”

Craig turned towards Clyde, who was trying to spoon cream into his pastries, though most of it ended up on the baking sheet instead. In front of them was Token, who looked up as well from Clyde’s not so subtle whisper.

Craig whispered back, “What.”

“Why you so down, Bro?”

Clyde seemed concerned. Craig rolled his eyes, sighing.

“I’m not. Just pissed we have to do this.”

“Yeah, Clyde. Leave him alone, before you get us in trouble,” Token whispered. He glanced behind them at PC Principal, who was supervising everyone. The three went silent. The only voices they heard were the annoying singing of Heidi and Cartman playing throughout the cafeteria from the speakers.

Craig finished another tray, standing up to put it in the oven. Unfortunately, Clyde had risen as well, and walked beside him.

“I’m serious dude, you look fuckin’ pissed. Did somethin’ happen?” he whispered.

Craig glared at him as they entered the kitchen. He checked to make sure PC Principal wasn’t looking their way, and grabbed Clyde’s shoulder, leaning over to whisper into his ear, “I think I fucked up with Tweek.”

Clyde looked shocked. He whispered back, “You  _fucked_ him?”

“What?” Craig grimaced, hitting Clyde in the back of the head. “Idiot! I said I fucked _up_ with Tweek!”

Clyde whined, rubbing the back of his head. “W-why? Did you make him mad or something?”

“...I think so.”

“Woah. What did you do?”

Craig felt his cheeks grow warmer, remembering last night. “I called him ‘babe.’ Then I ran away, and I haven’t texted him since.”

“ _What?!”_ Clyde snapped, somehow still in a whisper. “What the fuck?”

“Listen. I didn’t mean to call him that, it just came out–”

“But you ran away and ignored him after? Dude…”

“Fuck off, man. You aren’t helping at all.”

“Why are you guys still here?”

Craig turned to Token, who placed his tray into one of the empty ovens.

“Craig is a fucking idiot, that’s why.”

“Fuck you.”

Token shushed them. “What did Craig do?”

“He got some balls with Tweek and then ruined it.”

“What?”

Craig shoved Clyde, glaring at him. “Fuck. You.”

“He’s ignoring Tweek right now because he’s embarrassed over calling him ‘babe.’”

“Woah, dude.”

“I’m not embarrassed!”

Clyde jabbed a finger in Craig’s face. “You totally are, dude. Just admit it. Why else would you be ignoring Tweek?”

Craig recoiled, pursuing his lips. He hated to admit it, but Clyde was right. “Okay. But what the hell do I do? I can’t talk to him right now!”

“Later today, when we have to sell all those shitty Danishes, Tweek will be there.” Token nudged him. “That’s when you talk to him and apologize, dude.”

Craig crossed his arms, looking down at his feet. “Okay. God, I feel like such an idiot.”

“You are one.”

“Shut it. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, it’s just something about Tweek that makes me… nervous.”

They were silent after that, allowing Craig a moment to breathe.

Clyde eventually broke the silence, patting his shoulder. “That means you like him, dude. Don’t fuck it up.”

When Craig looked at Clyde, he was smirking. He smirked back, pushing Clyde’s hand off his arm. “Whatever.”

“Okay, so that’s our plan, right?” Token cut in. “Now, let’s get the fuck out of here before PC Principal beats the shit out of us.”

“He probably wouldn’t do it to you though, ‘cause you’re black.”

Craig snickered under his breath as they walked out of the kitchen. Token gave Clyde a stink-eye. At the mixing station, Tweek fumbled with a wooden spoon, somehow getting the mix in his hair. Craig stopped to look at him. Tweek caught him staring, but to his surprise, he gave him a small smile before returning his attention to mixing up the batter.

Craig felt his heart almost jump out of his chest, hiding a smile behind his hand so his friends wouldn’t notice.

* * *

Craig held a box of Danishes against his chest, sighing. If he was being honest, he was nervous. He was horrible at confrontation, but he had to do it for Tweek.

Some students, including him, were outside of the school, trying to sell boxes of the pastries to passing cars. The people in the cars didn't seem very interested though, and kept driving past them without stopping. There were far too many kids for how little business they were getting, and Craig figured he wouldn't be missed if he slipped away.

He gave Clyde a look, and Clyde nodded at him and walked up to Tweek. Craig couldn't hear what Clyde said to him. He saw Tweek grab a box of pastries, and walk off down the street. This was apparently good, because Clyde gave Craig a thumbs up. Craig hurried to catch up to Tweek.

“Hey, Tweek.”

Tweek flinched, and the pointy little hat he was wearing almost fell off.

 _“Eeep!_ Craig! I haven’t talked to you at all today.”

“Yeah,” Craig said, cringing from how dismissive he sounded. “I… Shit. Look, Tweek.”

Tweek came to a stop, giving Craig a confused look.

“I shouldn’t have done that,” Craig said. “Like, leaving you yesterday and not texting back.”

Tweek shifted slightly, giving an awkward smile. “It’s okay, it’s not really a big deal! I was really only confused as to why you did—”

“It wasn’t anything you did. I was just…” Craig’s voice trailed off as he looked away.

“Craig. Were you… embarrassed?”

Craig cheeks heated up. “No.”

“You totally were!”

“Shut up.”

Tweek giggled, vibrating from excitement, something that only he could do. Craig, however, had had enough of the mocking. He used his long legs to his advantage, leaving Tweek behind.

“I’m going.”

“Ack– Wait up! Come on, Craig!”

Tweek had to run to catch up to him.“I-I thought it was nice! The, um. The pet names.”

Craig stopped, turned to really look at Tweek, and in a quiet voice, he asked, “Really?”

“Y-yeah!  _Ghhh_ , it’s weird, isn’t it? That I liked it?”

“No, it’s not.” They both went silent for a few moments, walking together again. “You really did like it?”

Tweek nodded with a shy smile. Craig smirked, finally feeling confident again.

“Oh. Well, I’m glad you liked it… Honey.”

Tweek giggled, and Craig smiled wider. He felt better, more secure in his relationship with Tweek, and seeing his smile meant the world to him.

* * *

“Craig, oh my God! Look what’s happening right now!”

“Babe, babe, hold on– I’ll look in a sec– Fuck, you passed me.”

Craig tried to lean around Tweek’s phone, which was shoved in his face, but it was too late – Jimmy had passed him in _Mario Kart._

“O-oh. Sorry, Craig.”

“It’s okay, there’s a blue shell comin’ anyways.”

“Oh, shit!” Jimmy exclaimed.

Craig heard Clyde laugh obnoxiously. “Hah, you guys deserved that!”

“It’s n-not our fault you fell o-off the stage like a hundred times.”

“Hey!” Clyde whined when everyone else snickered. “I couldn’t help it, Token gave me the worst controller!”

“Don’t blame me, these are new controllers. You just suck.”

They all laughed at Clyde, and the match finished shortly after.

Craig drank some of his soda. He was leaning against Tweek, who was reading something on his phone, a worried expression on his face.

“Babe, what did you wanna show me?”

“ _GAAH!_ Craig, look!”

“I can’t see with the phone up in my face.” Craig grabbed it out of Tweek’s hand, and scrolled through the article he was reading.

“Fort Collins? That’s not that far from here. Why’s everyone killing each other?”

"Something about everyone's internet history leaking," Tweek said. "What if it happens here? Oh, God!" He groaned, tugging nervously at his sleeves.

Token shuffled over to them on the couch to look at the article. “Oh, I heard about that. They’re trying to make all internet history visible to stop trolling, or something. My parents are freaking out about it, for some reason ”

“Hey, you guys better promise you won’t look at my history when it happens here!” Clyde said. Craig rolled his eyes.

“I don’t think anyone wants to look at what you’re searching, dude.”

Tweek made a weird growl, curling up on himself. Craig placed a hand on his back to comfort him.

“It’s okay Tweek, even if it did happen to us, it's going to be fine. Probably.”

“ _Probably?!”_

“I don’t think that’s helping, Craig,” Token said. He chose another level in the game.

“Shit.” Craig bit his lip, handing Tweek his controller. “Here, take your mind off of that right now. I wanna watch you play.”

That seemed to cheer him up, and he smiled as he held the controller in his hands. “Can you get me a drink while I play?”

“Sure, Babe.”

“Can I get one too, baaaabe?” Clyde teased, trying and failing to hold back his laughter. Craig gave him his middle finger, which only made him laugh louder, Jimmy and Token joining in to embarrass him further.

* * *

They were walking home from Token’s mansion, hand in hand. Craig glanced at Tweek, watching him nibble at his bottom lip nervously like he had something on his mind. Craig rolled his thumb over Tweek’s knuckles as a sign of comfort.

“What’s wrong?”

Tweek made a noise of fright, looking at Craig with wide eyes. He started to nibble on one of his nails. “ _Euugh–_ Craig, do you really think we’ll be fine?” he asked.

“Of course, why wouldn’t we be?”

“But when TrollTrace hits here, everything’s going to be out in public!”

Craig sighed. Of course, that was still on Tweek’s mind. “Nothing is going to happen to us, Tweek. It’s not like you’re searching anything bad… Are you?”

_“AUGH! NO?!”_

“See, you’re fine.”

Tweek groaned, seemingly aggravated, but left it at that.

They continued their slow pace to Tweek’s house. Craig watched the shriveled leaves fall from the trees onto the sidewalk and street, painting it with oranges and browns. Fall had arrived, which meant that Halloween was close by. Hopefully, nothing would ruin it for them.

“You didn’t have to walk me home, Craig.”

Tweek’s voice snapped Craig out of his thoughts. He let out a breathy laugh from the slight pout on Tweek’s face.

“Come on, you know I always do. It’s not a big deal, Babe.”

Tweek didn’t say anything to that, looking away, but Craig caught the smile growing on his face.

Craig nudged him slightly, and asked, “What are you smiling about?”

Tweek flinched as if he got caught doing something wrong. _“_ _Nngh_ _..._ You’re always calling me that now!”

“Yeah? I thought you liked it.”

“I do! I-I’m not used to it yet.”

“Well, I’ll keep calling you ‘Babe’ until you’re used to it, Babe.”

They stopped in front of Tweek’s house, and Tweek gave him a hug. Before he left, he stood on his tiptoes and gave Craig a kiss on the cheek, a nervous smile on his face.

_“OkaybyeI’llseeyoutomorrow!”_

Craig felt his cheeks burning hotly, and he couldn’t stop a dorky smile from appearing on his face. He waited as Tweek made his way indoors, rolling one of the tassels of his chullo between his fingers.

Craig noticed him peering out of the windows, and he waved goodbye to him until Tweek finally closed the blinds.

* * *

On his way back home, Craig felt as if he was walking on clouds. His mind was filled with thoughts about Tweek, and he couldn’t help a sigh from escaping his lips as he unlocked the door to his house, thinking back to that kiss.

Tweek was just so… cute. Craig wondered what he would do if he kissed him on the lips. He couldn’t believe they still hadn’t done it.

He was snapped out of his daydreams when he heard his mom call for him. “Craig? Is that you?”

“Yeah?”

“Can you come into the kitchen for a second?”

Craig rolled his eyes and groaned, but did what she said, stepping into the kitchen. To his surprise, both of his parents were there, and his mom put her hands on his shoulders, a weak smile on her face.

“Did you have fun with all your friends today? How’s Tweek doing?”

“Uh, yeah. He’s fine.”

“Good, good! That’s good,” his mom said, looking over at his dad nervously. Craig made a face, confused.

“Okay, what’s happening? You guys never do this.”

“Well, ah– Thomas.”

“Oh, God. Well, son...”

“What?”

“Earlier I was vacuuming upstairs, and when I went to vacuum your room, well…”

Craig furrowed his eyebrows. “ _What?”_ he pressed, pinning his dad with his stare.

“Your little pet, it didn’t seem well. In its cage. It wasn’t moving at all.”

“You mean Stripe. Wh–”

“I’m so sorry, Craig, honey, I think it… died.”

Craig scoffed, looking at them with disgust. God, who did they think they were?

“Stripes fine. You guys probably got freaked out from the way he sleeps. Let me go get him.”

He ran upstairs, his parents calling for him to come back, but to no avail. He rushed into his room, opening one of the closet doors, which Stripe’s cage was in.

There he was, sleeping in the middle of his cage peacefully. Craig let out a huge sigh, sitting on his knees and opening the cage door.

“Hey buddy, wake up. You want some snacks?”

He pets Stripe’s back gently. Stripe didn't make any movements, didn't utter a sound, and Craig was hit with nausea. He picked him up, rubbing his thumb against one of Stripe’s soft cheeks.

“Stripe?”

“Oh, sweetie…” his mom said from the door, but he didn’t turn to answer her.

He should’ve seen the signs. Stripe had been getting more sluggish than usual, and wasn’t eating all of his meals – but he hadn’t thought anything of it.

“What’s going on with Craig?” Tricia asked, poking her head through the door.

Craig placed Stripe gently into his cage again, then stood and stomped towards his door. His head pounded to the point where he almost couldn’t take it.

“Craig?”

“Leave me alone!” He yelled, slamming the door closed in their faces. He threw himself onto his bed and covered his head with his pillow so he wouldn’t hear anyone calling for him. He shut his eyes tightly, and felt the pressure of tears about to spill. He hated crying, feeling like such an idiot when he did it, but Stripe…

Stripe was everything to him.

“Shit,” he mumbled, wiping the tears that did escape. He had to do something for Stripe, put him in a box to bury him in, call in Father Maxi, but for now, all he could do was lay on his bed, wallowing in his pain.

He reached for his phone, but then decided against it. He could talk to Tweek about it, but… he hated getting emotional in front of Tweek. He’d be weak if he came crying to him.

Instead, he stayed in bed, until his vision faded into darkness and he fell asleep.

* * *

When he woke up, he realized that he was tucked into bed. He felt for his phone, looking at the time. It seemed he’d been asleep for a couple of hours.

“Hey, honey. We ordered pizza. Are you alright? Did you sleep well?” His mom asked, looking at him with a worried expression. He nodded, getting out of bed, and pulled his chullo back on.

He realized that his closet was still open, the cage missing.

“Wh– Where’s Stripe?”

“Oh, your dad placed him in a box, and took him and the cage down to the basement while you were asleep.” She placed a hand on his shoulder and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “You want something to eat?”

“Yeah. I’ll go downstairs,” he said, too weak to argue any further. “Mom?”

“Yes?”

“Can I stay home from school tomorrow?”

His mom sighed, but nodded. “Sure, honey. Now go downstairs and eat.”

He dragged himself downstairs, getting a paper plate from the kitchen, and opened the pizza box for a slice. Tricia was sitting across from him, her cheeks full and covered with sauce. She realized that he was staring at her, giving a glare.

“Wht?” She mumbled out, still chewing.

“You wanna help me bury Stripe tomorrow?”

Tricia swallowed, and asked, “Are you calling Father Maxi again?”

“Yeah.”

“Sure.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for the wait yall!!! exciting


	17. ketchup packets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to my lovely editor and beta reader tweeksqueak!! <3 pls send them a follow!  
> https://tweeksqueak.tumblr.com/
> 
> Hello! This is my first fanfiction, and I'm really excited to continue this!
> 
> This fic begins in South Park season 19 and follows Tweek and Craig's perspectives throughout the seasons, as well as their relationship.
> 
> If you aren't already, get caught up in season 20 because this chapter is in that season!

“Let us ponder the Lord’s mercy for... “

“Stripe Three.”

"...Right. Bless it be," Father Maxi said, finishing his speech.

Craig and Tricia held a moment of silence for the deceased guinea pig. Staring into the hole where the shoebox lay, it hit Craig that this was it: Stripe was dead, and he would never see him again.

Craig took a deep breath. “Well, it was nice knowing you, Stripe Three. I’ll never forget your loud screeches for food, your frequent escapes from your cage, and the way you snored.”

“I’m gonna miss the guy,” Tricia added. Craig could not lift his head to look at her.

“Hey, can I go now?” Father Maxi interrupted. 

Craig shut his eyes, inhaled deeply, and waved off the priest. He heard him leave through the patio door.

“So long, Stripe,” Craig continued, shoveling dirt into the hole.

Tricia stuck Popsicle sticks shaped into a cross into the dirt, the number three written on it. She stood, brushing off the dirt stuck to her knees. The doorbell could be heard ringing several times in a row. 

“I’ll get it,” she yelled, running towards the door, only stopping to kick off her sandals before stepping inside.

"Hey, Craig!" came a shout from behind.

Clyde was leaning over the fence separating their houses, trying to get Craig's attention. Craig stuck the shovel in the dirt, and ran towards the fence. Once he reached Clyde, he rubbed the dirt off his hands.

“What you doin’ with Trish?” Clyde asked, propping himself up.

“Stripe died, so we held a funeral for him,” Craig replied, gazing towards the spot where his guinea pig rested.

“Oh. So _that’s_ why you weren’t at school today! Uh– I mean… sorry, dude.” Clyde scratched the back of his head. “Does Tweek know?”

Craig sighed. He was afraid Clyde would ask that. He leaned against the fence, crossing his arms. 

“No.”

“Dude–”

“ _Don’t,”_ Craig interrupted, lifting a hand up. “Really, I’ve been through this before, and I just want to be left alone till I get over it. You know how Tweek gets with that kind of stuff anyway.”

“But, Craig… I think he’d want to know, dude. You two practically raised it together!”

“You know, it’s really none of your business,” Craig snapped, glaring at Clyde, who made a concerned face back. “So, fuck off. This is the reason why I didn’t even go to school in the first place.”

“Whatever, see you later, dude,” Clyde muttered, jumping off the fence before Craig could reply.

Craig leaned his head back until it hit the fence, letting out a sigh. He stared into the sky, watching the clouds blend into the orange sunset. 

Clyde had asked why Craig wouldn’t talk to Tweek about Stripe, but it was more than just the guinea pig. Craig was supposed to be there for Tweek when he needed him, but he kept fucking up time and time again. He couldn’t help him patch things up with the other girls, he ran out on him like a loser when he slipped out a pet name, and now their fucking guinea pig was dead.

What if Tweek didn’t trust him anymore because he killed the only thing the two of them cared for together?

He sank down onto the grass below. While picking at his nails, he considered the situation he was facing. There was no way his mom was gonna let him stay at home any longer. How the hell was he going to do this?

He heard the patio door slide open, and Tricia speaking with someone.

“Craig’s over there. Next time, you gotta come over to hang out with me, okay?” She said it in that annoying, ‘cutesy’ voice she put on when she wanted something.

“Oh. Sure, thanks, Tricia,” Tweek said.

Wait, Tweek? Shit, what the hell was he doing here?

Craig ran over to Tweek, who said goodbye to Tricia before she went back inside.

“Hey… Tweek.” Craig’s voice wavered.

“Hey.” They went silent, not able to catch each other’s gazes. Tweek played with his fingers. “So… I heard about Stripe.”

“O-oh. Who–”

“Tricia texted me about it, and–”

“Tweek, I should have–”

“I’m so sorry.”

Craig was taken aback, blinking in confusion. Tweek took his hands into his own, smiling sadly. 

“Stripe meant a lot to you, didn’t he?”

“Yeah. I can’t believe he’s gone.” Craig shook his head slowly, looking down. Tweek tightened his grip on his hands.

“What do you wanna do? W-we can play on my PS4 if you’d like. Or– I can make you something sweet, or–”

“Tweek, I think I just want to be left alone right now.” 

Craig regretted saying it immediately. He felt Tweek’s grip on his hands loosen, his shoulders falling slightly. Craig didn’t have the strength to look at his face.

“Oh… That’s okay. I get it. I’m always on my phone, okay? If you need me…”

Craig nodded, feeling Tweek peck his cheek softly. When Craig looked at him he was smiling, but Craig could tell Tweek was still upset. Hopefully, not at him.

Tweek rubbed Craig’s arm. “Text me if anything comes up, alright?”

“Sure.” As if.

“I’ll see you at school then, Craig.”

Tweek left shortly after, leaving Craig alone with his thoughts, as requested. Didn’t stop him from feeling like shit for having treated Tweek like that, pushing him aside when all he wanted was to help Craig.

Craig knew that he was making things worse by turning Tweek away, but he couldn’t bring himself to open up to Tweek.

* * *

Craig slid the patio door shut behind him with such force that the glass rattled in its frame. Shoving his hands deep into his pockets and gritting his teeth, he made a beeline for his bedroom.

“Hey, what did I say about banging doors, Craig?!”

Craig flinched, turning to his dad, who was placing crates of alcohol onto the dining table.

“Sorry, dad. Won’t happen again,” he muttered, walking past him, about to head upstairs when his dad called him again.

“Hey! Wait up, son! Don’t you want to stay up and watch the election with your father here?” His dad chuckled as if he had made a joke. He patted his crate of beers, the bottles clinking together. “I’ll be needing a lot of these tonight if you-know-who gets into office! Tell you what, if you stay up with me, I can sneak you one too– I won’t tell Mom!”

Craig grimaced. “Look, I don’t care about elections, or any of that stuff. I’m going upstairs.”

His dad stopped him before he could take a single step. “Look, son, I know you’re still upset about your pet dying. But you really need to know that… That you can’t run away and ignore everyone because you’re hurt. You won’t know you need them until it hits you, and it's too late to fix everything.”

Craig stared at him blankly, not really understanding or caring about what he said.

“... Can I go now?”

His dad sighed, finally giving in.

“Sure, go on son, I’ll be here if you need me.”

Craig headed upstairs, shutting the door to his room behind him, locking it before falling onto his bed. He grabbed his earbuds, placing them into his ears, and hearing the soft plucking of guitar strings of a song he had never heard of, but nevertheless continued listening to. Seems like he forgot to pause his Spotify, which was now playing some indie song.

He opened his messaging app. It was flooded with unread messages from his friends, sending their condolences for his loss. Goddammit, Clyde couldn’t wait 30 minutes before spilling the news. Probably as revenge or something.

He went into his and Tweek’s conversation, the guilt seeping back inside him, piercing his gut like a blade. His thumbs hovered over the keypad, but he had no idea what to type at all. An apology? An excuse? A huge block of text expressing everything he was feeling?

Craig grunted, pressing the home button instead. 

He was a coward when dealing with emotions, but he’d never admit it out loud.

* * *

Craig chewed on his straw, leaning back against his seat. He was so fucking bored.

After school, the following day, Clyde and some other guys had dragged him to a diner in an attempt to make him feel better, as if a shitty diner with sticky tables would make him ecstatic. Craig listened to them talk about shit he didn’t care about – about Cartman, the girls, the election. 

He was more concerned with the fact that Tweek had been ignoring him.

That morning he had left an apology text for how he acted the day before. What he wasn’t expecting was that Tweek was going to be totally absent that day, not answering his texts at all. Not even reading them!

He wondered if Tweek was actually mad at him for how he treated him yesterday. Though, to be honest, Craig felt like he kind of deserved his anger. He didn't usually get mad though, and Craig wondered if he should head over and check up on him.

“Did you guys see what that bastard Stan did?!”

Craig's attention was pulled away from his phone to Butters, who banged on the table, causing the plates and glasses to wobble. Token grabbed his glass before it could fall over, sighing.

“What?” Clyde asked, leaning towards him.

“He’s a little traitor too! I thought it was bad enough that  _Cartman_ got tricked by the girls, but now Stan?” Butters growled. “I saw him trying to apologize to Wendy, wanting her to take him back!”

Craig groaned, looking back at his phone. Honestly, he didn’t care about anything that was happening between the boys and the girls anymore. He had thought the whole war was over now, since PC Principal stepped in.

“Ey, what’s with the groaning, Craig?” Butters snapped at him, which he only ignored.

“Come on, Butters. We brought Craig here to make him feel better, not to antagonize him,” Token said, trying to make Butters back off. Craig knew there was no point – Butter's would never let it go.

“No, he clearly has an issue!” Butters said. He leaned in, daring to get in Craig’s face. “What, are you a traitor too, Craig?”

Token and Jimmy pulled Butters back into his seat, with warnings to calm down. Craig wasn’t a meathead who thirsted to fight, but at some point, he would lose his patience.

But today he wasn’t in the mood to fight.

“Oh my God, no, calm down,” Craig said. “Stan’s just desperate for Wendy, but there’s no way they’re gonna start dating again.”

“But what if they do?! If she takes him back, everyone else will start falling for those wenches’ traps!” Butters hissed.

Craig blinked, wondering if he seriously heard that come out Butters’ mouth. Even Clyde, who was sold on this ‘Girls vs. Boys’ battle from the beginning, seemed confused.

“Yeah… No. I don’t think she’d do that, anyway.” Craig replied, raising an eyebrow at Butters as he sat back down, clearly sulking.

Clyde chuckled nervously, probably from how tense the atmosphere had gotten. “Yeah, can we just talk about something else? Like– I finally got Play of the Game on _Overwatch_! Token, back me up.”

“Yeah, but that’s only ‘cause I had to heal you so many times,” Token scoffed. 

“So was it really deserving?” Jimmy asked, jumping into the conversation.

“Yeah, it is! Come on, right Craig?” Clyde nudged him. 

Craig scoffed, shaking his head as he went back to tapping on his phone. “Leave me out of this, I wasn’t there that match to know.” 

Clyde leaned over, obviously trying to read Craig's screen. Craig pushed him away.

“Ooooh. Texting Tweek, huh?” Clyde snickered. “Did you two patch things up?”

Craig sighed, turning off his phone. “No. I mean– he still hasn’t been texting me back.” 

“Well, you gotta stop obsessively looking at your phone,” Token said, a concerned tone to his voice. “It will only make you more anxious. He’s probably just busy, or something.”

“Whatever,” Craig muttered, swirling the ice in his drink with his straw.

“You know, Tweek was awfully close to the gals before all this started,” Butters piped in. 

Craig frowned at him, trying to decipher what he was trying to say. “What the hell does that mean?”

“I’m only saying… that maybe he could betray us too.” Butters pointed at him, looking over to the others, as if they’d defend him. “Craig hurt his feelings. How do we know he won't go back to the girls just to spite us all?”

Craig stood up, no longer able to maintain his neutral expression. A scowl grew on his face. “You shut your fucking mouth. You don’t know anything about him, and he sure as hell wouldn’t do any dumb shit like that.”

“How do _you_ know, Craig?!” Butters raised his voice, hands against his chest. “I’ve known Cartman since preschool! I thought I knew him, but he threw me for a loop! You can’t trust Tweek just ‘cause he’s your boyfriend.”

Craig felt one of his eyebrows twitch, hands trembling slightly from the brewing anger he felt. How dare he accuse Tweek of this petty shit? How dare he compare Tweek to fucking Cartman?

Clyde grabbed his shoulder, bracing for Craig to pounce on Butters, as if he was holding a dog by the leash.

“You don’t know shit. I’m fucking out of here,” Craig grunted as he shoved Clyde off of him, leaving the table.

He ignored the pleads to stay from his friends to stay, only answering with a middle finger before walking out of the diner, not looking back.

* * *

Craig scuffed his shoe against the pavement, kicking at the dirt and weeds that covered it. His fists were buried deeply in his pockets, his eyebrows furrowed, digging creases into his forehead. He needed some fresh air to cool down, but every time he remembered what Butters told him, his anger grew. 

He stopped in his tracks, standing under an autumn tree, which dropped its leaves softly beside his feet. Taking his phone from his pocket, he took in a deep breath before calling Tweek. But, all he heard was a dial tone, and the familiar automatic voice telling him to leave a message.

Craig groaned in frustration, shoving his phone back into his pocket, unsure of what to do next. Should he go back home, avoiding everyone and wallowing in his own misery? Or…

Craig pursed his lips, and ran, his heart beating quickly in his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> omg finally this is out ;_; i hope its a good chapter!!!


	18. Pocket Knife

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to my lovely editor and beta reader tweeksqueak!! <3 pls send them a follow!  
> https://tweeksqueak.tumblr.com/
> 
> Hello! This is my first fanfiction, and I'm really excited to continue this!
> 
> This fic begins in South Park season 19 and follows Tweek and Craig's perspectives throughout the seasons, as well as their relationship.
> 
> If you aren't already, get caught up in season 20 because this chapter is in that season!

Craig was met with the maroon painted house that he’s grown to know so well, his lungs burning from running the whole way there. He cursed under his breath when he dropped his keys, hands shaking as he turned the knob.

He’d been so confident before, why was he now getting so nervous?

Forgetting to tug off his shoes, he stomped up the wooden stairwell. The door to Tweek’s room was covered with peeling stickers, dents, and coffee stains.

Holding onto the door handle, he let out a wavered breath and went inside.

Tweek was sitting at his desk, facing away from him. He turned around with a surprised expression on his face once he heard the door creak open, but before he could say anything, Craig began speaking.

“Tweek, I’m so sorry for how I acted this week.”

“Craig–” Tweek tried to speak as he stood up from his chair.

“I’m horrible with communication. Especially with death, I get so closed off and deal with it that way…”

“Craig, I–”

“But, it’s not right. Especially towards you.” Craig walked closer to Tweek, placing his hands on his shoulders. “You have every right to be mad at me, but I really want to apologize–”

Craig paused, hearing the familiar chirps and whistles of a guinea pig in the room. Tweek smiled nervously, pulling away from his grasp to move aside, showing a cage that was on top of his desk, with a guinea pig inside.

He walked towards the cage, turning to Tweek, who curled a finger in the locks of his hair.

“You– You got another one?”

“Ack– It was meant to be a surprise!”

“A surprise?”

Tweek nodded. “Well, you seemed really upset about Stripe passing away, so I gathered all my tip money and went with my mom to get another guinea pig that looked similar to Stripe!”

“It’s… for me?”

“Well, yeah! I mean, I guess it’s ours. But I didn’t name it, just in case you wouldn’t like the name and already want to send it back! I don’t think they take refunds though, so we’d be stuck with it –  _Eeugh –_ Not that I dislike it already!”

Craig only stared at him, too amazed to even reply to Tweek’s long rants. While Craig was sulking alone, Tweek was out looking for another guinea pig for them to own. Craig was amazed by how thoughtful Tweek had been.

“That’s beside the point, I haven’t been on my phone all day because of it. I didn’t mean to miss your calls! Gah, even though I freak out when you do it, I did the same thing– Craig? Are you okay?”

Craig felt his body move on its own.

He took a step closer towards Tweek, cupping his cheeks. Tweek flinched against his grasp, but didn’t move away. Under his hands, Craig felt Tweek’s cheeks grow warmer the closer their faces got, until Craig’s lips finally pressed against the corner of Tweek’s lips, a short peck that was over as soon as it was started.

Tweek had a surprised expression on his face when Craig pulled away. He pulled Craig back in by gripping his coat.

“You missed.”

Before Craig could answer, Tweek tugged him down to reach his lips, pressing his own against Craig’s.

Craig felt like he'd been a ticking bomb, counting down to this moment. The kiss felt like an explosion. 

It was sloppy, their height difference making it tough to find a comfortable position, and their noses rubbed against each other's. 

But Craig wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

When they finally separated, still dazed, Craig gazed into Tweek’s eyes, his lips curling into a smile when Tweek smiled at him. He brushed his thumb against Tweek’s cheek, against the freckles dotting it, and a thought flew through Craig’s mind.

_I think I love him._

“I– Wow… That was… Nice,” Tweek squeaked out, which snapped Craig out of his daze.

“Just nice?”

“Eek! You know what I mean!”

Craig chuckled when Tweek pouted, cheeks burning from embarrassment, he supposed. 

“Alright, let’s see our new piggie.”

Tweek perked up, opening the cage to pick up their small guinea pig. It was fluffy, fluffier than Stripe Three, and it struggled in Tweek’s grasp as he sat down, the guinea pig full of energy.

“Ack– Come on, don’t you want to meet your new dad?” Tweek placed the guinea pig into Craig’s hands, smiling nervously when it seemed to calm down, sniffing at Craig’s fingers and coat. Craig chuckled, petting the top of its head softly with his pointer finger, looking up at Tweek.

“We should name him Stripe Four.”

Tweek’s eyes widened for a second, but he quickly shook it off, smiling at Craig.

“Y-yeah!”

Craig watched as Tweek leaned over, only to flinch back when Stripe chirped at his direction. Craig let out a breathy laugh, scooting closer to him, gently placing Stripe into Tweek’s hands. They shared a smile with each other, comfortable even without any words said.

* * *

“You know, you aren’t trembling as much as before.”

Under the shade of the branches from the trees that surrounded Stark’s Pond, Craig and Tweek sat together on the flimsy bench beside the pond.

Ever since their kiss, they had fallen back into their honeymoon phase. Cutting class for dates became somewhat normal, the two running together west of the school to spend the rest of the afternoon near the pond, taking in the view, sharing kisses, but mostly talking.

It was nice seeing Tweek genuinely relaxed, speaking his mind, instead of the frightened rambling people knew him for. Craig wouldn’t say it out loud, but he was glad he was the only one to know who Tweek truly was.

And what a better way to celebrate how wonderful he was than on their own anniversary.

Craig brushed a lock of Tweek’s hair behind his ear, which made him giggle, maybe out of nervousness, or awkwardness, yet the smile on his face kept intact. 

Craig smirked, unable to keep up a stoic face. “I wonder why?” he pressed on, which made Tweek giggle more.

“Come on, you know why…”

“Mmm… Nope.” Craig said, popping the ‘p’ in ‘nope’. 

Tweek groaned, pushing his shoulder gently, which only caused Craig to lean in more.

“Stop it! Heh, you’re such a jerk,” Tweek gave in, cheeks darkening slightly. “I’ve been sleeping better– and I haven’t really been worrying about all the shit going on! Surprisingly…”

“That’s good.” Craig hummed, placing his arm against the seat of the bench. He enjoyed hearing Tweek speak his mind, and he didn’t mind staying silent for him to continue talking. “I’m glad nothin’s stressing you out.”

“Please, everything stresses me out!  _Gah!_ ” Tweek’s body jerked slightly, but he quickly recovered, leaning back into Craig’s arms once again. “I wish we could have another sleepover. I sleep better when I’m with you.”

Craig clicked his teeth. “Yeah, but my parents keep freaking out over this whole Trolltrace thing. You’d get annoyed pretty quick,” Craig muttered, pecking Tweek’s cheek softly. “But, I can sneak out and come over tonight if you’d like.”

“Sneaking out is kind of… rebellious isn’t it?”

Craig chuckled, poking at Tweek’s side to hear him screech in laughter. “Babe, we’re literally skipping school right now. But, if we get caught, we can use the homophobia card again.”

Tweek rolled his eyes, putting on an obvious pout, most likely reminded of the last time they used their homosexuality for gain. As much as Tweek seemed to regret it, Craig still believed it was a successful plan. They got some free games because of it, shit that Craig otherwise would have needed to wait until Christmas to get, just by hamming their ‘gayness’ up for the cashier. 

“No way,” Tweek said, which made Craig bury his face into the crook of his neck, chuckling. 

“What if I said ‘I’m sorry Mr. Mackey, but making out with my boyfriend is more important than learning how to add fractions,’ is that okay?” Craig said. He received a shove, which only made him laugh, much to Tweek’s annoyance.

“ _Arrgh,_ you’re making me regret coming here with you!”

“Come on, babe, I’m just kidding.” Craig stood up, taking Tweek’s arm to pull him up as well. Tweek tensed up, shooting Craig a glare.

“What are you doing _now?”_  

“Trust me, I wanna do somethin’ real quick.” Craig flashed a toothy grin, watching Tweek’s face grimace. His arm went lax as he gave in to Craig, allowing him to lead him deeper into the forest, veering from the dirt path.

Craig pushed some overgrown bushes out of the way for them both to pass through, finally reaching one of the larger trees within Stark’s Pond, whose roots caused the grown below to rise slightly, even poking out from the dirt, which Craig took the opportunity to step on to seem even taller than he already was.

Craig shrugged off his bookbag and dug in it for a minute before pulling out his dad’s army knife, still sheathed like he last remembered. 

He heard Tweek let out a yelp, his eyes widening at the sight of the knife. “Why the hell do you have that!”

“Babe, calm down. I realized that I forgot it in my bag this whole time, and–”

“Wait, so you’ve brought that to school ever since! It’s been in your bag this whole time?” 

“It’s not like I wanted to bring it to school, I only found it today when I tried looking for it this morning.”

“What if you accidentally  _stabbed_ yourself with it! You’re not allowed to bring a weapon to school, so what if they let you bleed out in the principal’s office? Stripe Four is too young to already lose one of his dads!” Tweek screeched, his arms hugging around his body tightly.

“ _Tweek._ Babe. Calm down.” Craig raised his voice, placing a hand on Tweek’s cheek. “I wanna surprise you with something, but you gotta promise me you aren’t gonna freak out, okay? No one’s gonna die from it, seriously.”

Tweek trembling died down slightly as Craig spoke, and he nodded, although he still seemed a bit wary over it. Craig gave Tweek a comforting smile, before continuing.

“Okay, I need you to close your eyes for a second, I feel like I’m gonna fuck it up if you stare at me.”

Tweek grimaced, but did what Craig told, covering his eyes with the palms of his hands. 

“Alright, I’ll tell you when you can open them.”

“O-okay…”

With a small huff, Craig unsheathed the knife, placing a hand against the tree. It was still sturdy, the bark feeling tough against his palm, not peeling or chipping away under his touch. With the knife gripped firmly in his hand, he traced where he would carve the initials of their name before finally digging the knife into the bark.

When he finished, he stepped back, smiling at the work he’d done. It was simple enough, Their first name initials with a plus sign between the two letters. He brushed his hand against the carvings, then turned back to Tweek, who seemed anxious, probably from the wait.

“Alright, you can open your eyes now.”

Tweek moved his hands away from his face, blinking to adjust to the light again. Craig smiled as Tweek’s mouth widened from seeing the carving as he stepped closer to the tree, a hand against the bark. 

“Wow…”

“So, you like it?” Craig asked nervously.

“I love it, Craig.” Tweek smiled brightly, and Craig felt his heart almost leap out of his chest.

“I… I didn’t want to finish it, I feel like I’m going to ruin it if I do anymore. You wanna carve something?”

Craig passed the knife to Tweek, which made him blink in confusion. It seemed like he understood it once he took it from Craig’s hand, carving into the tree with his eyebrows furrowed.

Craig leaned over to try to see what Tweek was doing, but backed away when Tweek finished, brushing away the pieces of bark still stuck to the carving.

“There! How does it look?” Tweek asked, a wide grin on his face.

A heart was carved around the initials, which made Craig smile. To him, it was perfect.

The two sat down between the roots of the tree, hand in hand as they leaned back against the trunk. Tweek placed his head against Craig’s shoulder, and Craig kissed the top of his head, nuzzling his nose into the blonde locks he’d loved so much.

“I’m no good with words, but… I hope you know that, even if I’m being an idiot, I still like you. I’ll always like you. Like, a whole lot,” he mumbled.

Tweek hummed in response.

It took a moment for Tweek to answer him, as if he was struggling to find the words. Craig waited, suddenly feeling nervous and tense.

“I dunno if it’s too soon to say this but… I think I love you.”

Craig felt an immense relief, clutching Tweek’s hand a little tighter, rolling his thumb over his knuckles.

“I think I love you too,” he whispered back. "Happy anniversary, Honey."

The two fell into a peaceful silence, taking in the calm environment that surrounded them.


	19. Footsteps

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to my lovely editor and beta reader tweeksqueak!! <3 pls send them a follow!  
> https://tweeksqueak.tumblr.com/
> 
> Hello! This is my first fanfiction, and I'm really excited to continue this!
> 
> This fic begins in South Park season 19 and follows Tweek and Craig's perspectives throughout the seasons, as well as their relationship.
> 
> If you aren't already, get caught up in season 20 because this chapter is in that season!

During the following days, Craig staying out of the drama that Cartman, Butters, and Kyle had started and pushed to its limit. Thankfully, they had all fucked off to somewhere else, and Craig could go back to hanging out with his friends like before, without his day getting ruined by one of those assholes.

Even the girls, who had a vendetta against all the boys at school, had paused the feud to worry about their Internet search histories being leaked. Craig wouldn’t say it out loud, but he missed being able to give middle fingers to chicks without any staff members throwing him in detention. But hey, at least they weren’t annoying him anymore.

“Craig? Could you go gather more wood? I ran out,” Tweek asked, voice slightly distorted through Craig’s headset.

Craig ignored him for a second to send a final text to Clyde, who had been bugging him about their math homework. Craig sent him a middle finger emoji, and threw his phone on his desk, to be forgotten.

He left the menu to continue playing, fixing his headset. “Which kind, baby? I can go to the jungle right now.”

“You know which one! The same dark wood we used for the walls! Hurry up!”

“Alright, alright, I’m going.” 

Craig smiled to himself. Tweek was pretty passionate about _Minecraft_ , especially building houses and gardening. He and Craig had started building a house by the beach, which Tweek found incredibly romantic, for some reason. Craig mainly enjoyed the survival aspect of the game, but Tweek was deathly afraid of going into caves, so Craig had gotten used to going through them alone, bringing back a shitload of loot for them to share.

“You want to hear something really surprising? Some of the girls at my school started following me on Instagram again!” 

“Yeah?”

“I mean, I still haven’t talked with them. Do you think I should message them? Oh God! I’m so nervous…”

“If you want to, babe. I don’t think people really give a fuck anymore,” Craig said. A notification popped up on his screen, informing him that Kyle was trying to call him. Usually, he'd decline the call immediately and ignore him, but he knew Kyle wouldn't give up so easily. To put it nicely, he was a fucking spammer.

“Babe, Kyle is trying to call me. You want him to join our call?”

“ _Gnnh–_ What? What the hell does he want?” Tweek whined. “Fine. But only for a minute!”

“Don’t worry, honey, I’ll get your wood after this,” Craig said, snickering. Going into the menu once again, he let Kyle join the call. 

“Guys!” Kyle said with great urgency. Craig could hear him frantically typing on his keyboard. “I need you two to get on the GLAAD website and respond to all the homophobic shit I just said about gay people!” 

Craig stared at the screen, unable to respond. On second thought, maybe he should’ve gone with his gut and ignored the call.

“What!” Tweek yelped.

“Why’d you say horrible shit about gay people?” Craig asked.

Kyle brushed his comment aside. “It’s not important. Listen, I’ll send you a link to the site, just make sure to sound as offended as possible! Hang on, I'll call you guys back." 

He ended the call before Craig could question him, leaving only a link to the website. Craig scrolled down to the comment section, skimming through the recently posed ones.

“Wait, bring him back on here! I wanna ask what the fuck is going on!” Tweek demanded, banging a fist against his desk.

“Woah, listen to this,” Craig said. He couldn’t stop himself from snickering as he read the stupid comment. “‘You homos are nothing but an AIDs bomb about to explode over America.’”

“What! Why would Kyle type that? That’s really fucked up!” Tweek yelled. Craig could hear his mouse wheel furiously scrolling. Guess he had clicked on the link as well.

“Dunno, maybe he’s just trolling.”

“Oh my God, you think he’s the troll…?”

“Does it really matter? Everyone’s shit is gonna be leaked anyway, there’s no point in speculating.”

Tweek whined again. “I wanna play Minecraft…”

Before Craig could reply, Kyle popped back into the call, still loudly typing away on his keyboard.

“Hey, did you guys reply yet? I really need you guys to help out!”

“What even is this Kyle?” Tweek asked. His voice was high and shrill, signifying his anger. “You know how rude this is?!”

“Tweek, use that energy on commenting! Craig, just post any horrible shit you can think of!”

Tweek stayed silent, probably speechless from being interrupted by Kyle. Craig watched Tweek on his webcam, seeing him angrily typing something, having given in to what Kyle wanted.

“Kyle, what are we actually trying to accomplish here?” Craig asked.

“We – me and Stan – are trying to get everyone together to create this fireball of hate! Then we’re going to direct all that hate towards TrollTrace!”

Bullshit, Craig thought. “If I say horrible shit online, Trolltrace is gonna track it down to me, and then I get fucked.” 

“That’s why we’re going to bring the whole thing down before that can happen!”

Craig scoffed, not buying it at all. What the hell could Kyle do against Denmark? Slurs and insults weren’t going to reset the Internet.

Before he could give a snarky reply he heard a knock against his door. He turned his head to see his dad standing in the doorframe. He had a beer bottle in his grasp, something not unusual for him that past week. He had been drinking through whole cases of beers, watching _The Golden Girls_ , and crying ever since the election.

“Craig?” his dad slurred.

Craig sighed, swiveling his chair around, pulling his headset down around his neck.

“Yeah, Dad?”

“You know, pretty soon our Internet histories are gonna be made public.” His dad paused, gazing down onto the carpet, eyes turning glossy. “Just– I just wanna say, I love you, Son.”

He left after that, leaving Craig alone and confused as hell. He tugged the headset back over his ears, hearing Kyle speaking still.

“Alright, who else is on right now? Do you guys know?”

Craig rolled his chair back to face the screen. “I think Clyde’s on. I was just texting with him a few minutes ago.”

“Sweet! I can write some horrible shit on his mom’s facebook posts and ask him to reply to them.”

“What the fuck, dude!” Tweek screeched, but Kyle had already left the call. “What an asshole!”

Craig put on a soft, soothing voice. “Don’t worry about it too much.”

“But this is so stupid!” Tweek continued, and Craig watched him tug at his hair. “I already went through twenty of these comments, and I wanna die!” 

“You want to go back to the game?” Craig asked, and he saw Tweek immediately perk up.

“Oh God, yes!” Tweek squealed, accompanied by quick clicking from his mouse. 

Craig felt relief, glad the two could get away from all the drama again, from all the craziness that always went on in South Park. He’d rather sit here, listening to Tweek’s long-winded rambles about what type of wood they should use for their house, or if they should go mine obsidian and go to the Nether. Being with Tweek was probably the most comfortable he could be.

* * *

When Craig was woken up, he knew it was too early in the morning. His vision was fuzzy, even after rubbing his eyes, and he grimaced from the taste of morning breath in his mouth.

He tried to go back to sleep, but no luck, as the muffled voices from outside his door kept him awake. He grumbled, reaching for his headphones on the nightstand to hopefully drown out the noise with music. A loud screech startled him.

“ _You son of a BITCH!”_

It sounded like his mom.

Craig pushed himself off the bed, fixing his hat over his ruffled bed hair, and opened his door to peek outside. He could hear the voices more clearly, and they were growing even louder still. Now it became obvious that it was his parents yelling at each other from downstairs, but he had no idea why.

Craig stepped down the stairs slowly, trying to better hear what they were yelling about.

“How many women have you met up with, Thomas?!”

“Laura– Laura, honey, please listen to me–”

“No, you disgusting fucker! Don’t touch me! I can’t believe you!”

Craig didn't think it would be smart to intervene, so he stayed on the stairwell and listened. He didn't understand what his mom was accusing his dad of, but she was clearly freaking out about it.

“Laura, please! Forgive me– I shouldn’t ever have–”

“That’s why you’ve been drinking, huh? Just because you knew you’d be caught, you sick–”

“I should have never done it, please Laura–”

“Done what, Thomas? Cheat on me?!”

Craig held back a curse. His bottom lip stung, from him having bit down on it without noticing. He rubbed it, wondering if his dad really could have done something like that to his mom.

He didn’t know a lot about cheating – hell, he’d only been in a relationship for less than a year – but he knew was that it was a big deal. People got hurt. When had Tweek accused him of cheating, Wendy and the other girls had all turned against him, and it took them a long time to accept that they were dating again. 

Another loud noise, the sound of glass breaking, broke Craig from his thoughts. He leaned forward to see what was going on. He immediately jolted back when he saw his dad hurry out into the living room, hair disheveled and eyes wide.

“Get out, Thomas! I swear to fucking God, you better get out of my house!”

“L-Laur–”

“I’m serious! Get the hell out of here!”

Craig watched his dad's mouth opening as if to say something, but his mom's glare ultimately made him reconsider, and he walked towards the front door with a defeated look.

His mom slammed the door behind him, her body shaking as she cried, hands covering her mouth. 

Craig had had enough of it. He stood, walking back to his room to escape what he’d witnessed. He wondered if any of it was real, and what the hell was going to happen from now on.

Closing the door slowly, he almost jumped when he heard Stripe Four begin to chirp, having woken up from all the commotion. Craig took in a breath, picking up the small guinea pig and petting him softly.

“What the hell am I going to do, Stripe?” he muttered, only receiving a small whistle as a reply. He smiled, his thumb rubbing the fur under Stripe’s neck. He felt Stripe nibble softly on his thumb and chuckled. 

The day when Tweek bought the guinea pig, Craig had been so scared he had fucked everything up between them from closing himself off and ignoring Tweek. He didn’t want to show any weakness to him or anything that could make him seem like a wimp.

Glancing at the phone that laid on his bed, he smiled softly.

Tweek never thought that way of him. Tweek didn’t think he was weak for showing his emotional side, or the things he’d hidden within himself for so long. Tweek wanted to help Craig with his problems. He was always trying to make him feel better. 

Unlocking his phone, Craig sent a quick message to Tweek and began packing his bag, preparing to escape from his room through the window.


	20. Coming over

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to my lovely editor and beta reader tweeksqueak!! <3 pls send them a follow!  
> https://tweeksqueak.tumblr.com/
> 
> Hello! This is my first fanfiction, and I'm really excited to continue this!
> 
> This fic begins in South Park season 19 and follows Tweek and Craig's perspectives throughout the seasons, as well as their relationship.
> 
> If you aren't already, get caught up in season 20 because this chapter is in that season!

“God, you’re freezing! Get in here already.”

Craig grunted as he swung his legs over the windowsill into Tweek’s room. Tweek seemed overly worried, his hands against Craig’s shoulders to help him hold his balance.

“Sorry, I left the house in a rush,” Craig said. He took out Stripe from his coat pocket. “I brought Stripe over too.” 

Tweek’s face went white. He snatched Stripe from Craig’s hands and petted him gently.

“Craig! Oh my God, what if he got hurt! What if he fell out of your pocket and, and– fell on his back!” 

Tweek was starting to panic. Craig shushed him softly, pulling him closer.

“Babe, babe. It’s okay, Stripe is fine. I’d never hurt him. I’m used to carrying guinea pigs around,” he said, trying to calm Tweek down. Tweek kept pouting but didn’t pull away. “I didn’t want to leave him alone at my house.”

“Oh… Why?” Tweek asked.

Craig sighed. “Can we sit down first?”

Craig sat on Tweek’s bed and watched as Tweek built a pillow fort, throwing a blanket over it. When he was finished he crawled under it, Stripe in his hands. He patted the blanket beside him, signaling Craig to join him. He obliged.

“So…” Tweek started, laying down on his side next to Craig. “It’s almost three am. At this time I'm usually the one seeking you out. What happened?”

Craig stayed silent for a minute, trying to find the right words. Tweek didn’t rush him. He watched Craig, giving him his time.

“I– God, I think…” Craig tried. He felt Tweek’s hand over his own, and turned, smiling sadly at him. “I think my dad cheated on my mom.”

Tweek gasped, the grasp on his hand tightening.

“Really?”

Craig nodded, his breath hitching. “I saw Mom kick him out of the house,” he said. There was a lump in his throat, and it hurt to speak. His voice came out strained. “I don’t know what’s going to happen now.”

Tweek stayed silent, a thumb rolling over his knuckles in comfort.

“I don’t know what to do.”

“What’s on your mind at the moment?”

“What if– What if they divorce?” Craig whispered as if someone could hear them through the thick blankets. "What if everything changes because of this?”

“You won’t have to deal with it alone,” Tweek said.

Craig turned over to face Tweek, a small smile on Craig’s face. Craig cupped his cheek, leaning in closer. He shared a kiss with Tweek inside the pillow fort, their legs curling together to bring them as close together as possible.

* * *

When Craig woke up the following morning his head was pounding. Unlike Tweek, he wasn’t used to falling asleep at four am. 

He could feel Tweek twitching under his arm. From the sound of fast-paced tapping, Tweek was on his phone, probably going crazy reading news articles.

Craig groaned, blinking the sleep out of his eyes. He muttered a “Good morning” to Tweek, who immediately tensed up.

“You’re finally awake!” he exclaimed. He shoved his phone in Craig’s face. “Look what is happening all over South Park!”

Just as Craig had suspected, Tweek was freaking out about something online. He sat up, resting his head on Tweek’s shoulder to look at his phone. 

“What’re you talkin’ about?” he asked, trying to skim whatever was on the screen before Tweek scrolled down the article.

“It seems like TrollTrace is running all over South Park, and there’s already a body count because of it!” Tweek almost dropped his phone from how badly his hands trembled.

A loud crash sounded outside.

What the hell was that?

Tweek gasped, covering his head with his arms. His phone fell out of his hands, onto the bed.

“Did you hear that?!”

“What?”

Craig grimaced, picking up the phone. It was almost ten in the morning, but he still wanted to stay in bed, especially after what he’d been through earlier. Too bad something insane was happening again. He’d have to investigate. He skimmed one of the more recent news stories Tweek was reading.

“I’m guessing nobody listened to each other and searched for everyone’s internet history, right?” Craig asked. He stood up to look through the window. Outside people were running around, fighting, going into pure mania. “That’s probably how my mom found out about Dad.”

“Definitely,” Tweek said. He yelped, slapping his hands over his mouth in horror. “I-I’m sorry! I mean– I didn’t mean to sound so blunt about it.”

Craig gave Tweek a weak smile and sat back down on the bed. “It’s okay, I know what you meant.” They went awkwardly silent for a few moments until Craig spoke up again. “Have you searched me up yet?”

_“What?!"_ Tweek screamed. His eyes widened when Craig began to snicker. “Don’t joke about that!”

Craig laughed, even more, when Tweek hit him on the shoulder. “I know, I know. You wouldn’t do that, come on.”

The fort Tweek had built had already been destroyed. Craig grabbed some of the pillows that were threatening to fall off the bed, placing them behind their heads. Tweek kept a grumpy expression on his face but laid down beside Craig anyway.

A sudden realization came to Craig, and he felt a stab of panic. “Hey, where’s Stripe?” he asked. He had forgotten he had brought him over.

“Oh, well, I never fell asleep, so I put him into his cage and fed him.”

“And then you crawled into bed to cuddle with me? Aww.”

“Shut up!  _Arrgh!_ ” 

Craig rolled over and captured Tweek in a tight hug. Tweek tried to squirm away, but Craig held on to him, kissing him sloppily all over his face. “Off! Off! _Ghhnn! ”_

Craig pecked him on the nose. “Love you, babe.”

“ _Gaaah!”_

When Craig finally let Tweek go they fell back in bed, spending the morning together. They shared a pair of earphones to block out the sounds of screams and crashes from outside their window, watching Vine compilations and animal videos and anything else the Youtube algorithm brought them.

They were watching videos of guinea pigs running around their owner's room when Tweek's phone unexpectedly shut off. Even Craig’s phone and the television had the same thing happen, showing a black screen with text reading: “Internet Reset.” Everything with an Internet connection seemed to be knocked out.

Tweek’s parents came into Tweek’s room to bring him outside but didn’t comment on Craig being there as well. To Craig’s surprise, other families were outside too, talking with their neighbors. It seemed like this Internet blackout had affected the whole area.

“It’s a miracle!” someone said in the distance. 

People rejoiced, hugging each other.

Craig rolled his eyes.

Tweek looked around. “Stan’s outside!” he said. He walked towards him.

“Why does that matter?” Craig questioned, but followed Tweek.

“Well, he and Kyle were doing something to mess with the Internet, remember? Maybe he knows what the hell is going on!”

Craig continued to follow Tweek. Stan seemed lost. When Tweek called out his name, he stared at them with unseeing eyes before realizing who it was. 

“Oh. Tweek, Craig. What’s up?”

“Okay, what the hell is going on here, Stan?” Craig asked, receiving a hit on the shoulder from Tweek. “What? Every time some weird shit happens, it’s because of him and his friends.”

“Fuck you, dude,” Stan spat. Craig replied with a middle finger.

“God, you two! Not now! Something is going on! It must be what you and Kyle were trying to accomplish, right?"

Stan nodded, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Oh, yeah! Our plan fucking worked! TrollTrace is gone, and all we had to do was clear the cache of the whole internet. Now I’m waiting for Kyle to get back here.”

“So everything is gone? Like… wiped from existence?” Craig asked.

“Well, duh! You know, you should be thanking us. We kinda saved your asses!”

Craig tried to stick up his middle finger again, but his hand was pushed away by Tweek.

“Come on, Craig. We’ll see you later, Stan.” Tweek said, taking Craig’s hand into his own. 

He led him down the street, passing the other neighbors. 

Craig let out a sigh, shaking his head. “If only the reset happened a few hours earlier–”

“Craig, don’t beat yourself up over this,” Tweek said firmly. He stopped walking. “Maybe it’s better than it’s out there! I don’t know. But… you can’t keep thinking about it like that.”

Before Craig could reply, he heard his name being called. Turning around, he watched his parents run up to them.

“Craig!” his mom cried, placing her hands on his shoulders. “What are you doing out here?”

“You had your mother worried sick,” his dad scolded.

Tweek came to his defense. "He wanted to see if I was okay!"

Craig’s voice wavered, “Oh- Uh… Yeah. Sorry. I should’ve said.”

“Well, don’t do that again without telling me! It’s so dangerous out here, especially with everyone panicking.” His mom smiled at Craig, patting his shoulders. The affection almost made him gag.

“Well, young man, let’s get back home,” his dad chuckled. He grabbed his arm firmly to tug him along. “It was nice seeing you again, Tweek.” 

Craig waved goodbye to Tweek as he was dragged away by his parents.

When he was back home, the house was quiet. Tricia was sitting on the couch. She seemed annoyed, probably because her phone wasn’t working. He sat down next to her, already anticipating his mom scolding him.

“Craig, why did you sneak out?”

There we go.

“You know how dangerous that was? What if you got hurt!” she continued to yell.

His dad was standing beside her, not as angry, but kept a firm face.

“Sorry.”

“I know you care about Tweek a lot, but anything could’ve happened out there!” his mom said, gesticulating wildly as she scolded him. “Why didn’t you come to talk to me first?

“Yeah, Craig. Why didn’t you tell Mom first?” Tricia mocked, leaning into Craig’s face.

“Get off of me!” Craig shoved her away. “How the hell am I supposed to ask when Mom’s busy yellin’ at dad!”

The whole room went silent. 

Craig realized what he'd said. His parents seemed as shocked as him, their eyes wide.

“Wait… what?” Tricia asked, confused. 

“C-Craig, honey–” his mom stammered, her hands up in defense. “You… you heard all of that?”

Craig nodded, tugging at one of his chullo flaps awkwardly.

“What the hell happened?” Tricia asked.

“Oh, sweetie, I just… hurt your mother’s feelings,” Thomas said with a waver in his voice. Craig caught the glare his mom gave him. “But please, don’t worry you two. Nothing bad is going to happen.”

“We are going to have a long talk,” his mom added. She looked as if she was feeling guilty. “I’m sorry you heard it all Craig, I really don’t want you to worry–”

“So you two aren’t getting divorced?” Craig asked, cutting her off.

His mom gasped. “Craig! Do you really think that! Oh my God…”

“Son, that would never happen.” his dad added in, clasping his shoulder gently. “Actually, I’m planning to quit my job soon.”

“Quit your job? What?” Craig asked.

“Yes, I and your mother have been talking and, well… I realized that you all mean the world to me. I must’ve been blind to not realize that.” His dad patted Craig’s back, smiling weakly. “I should spend more time with you guys… Find a new hobby, do more for the family.”

His mom huffed, crossing her arms. Craig could tell she wasn't totally okay with the situation. She seemed tense, and her eyes were puffy from crying.

“Wait, seriously?” Tricia asked. 

“Of course! Starting today, things are gonna change around here,” his dad confidently said. “Our family is going to do more together. How about… _I_ make lunch today?”

Craig and Tricia groaned, thinking of their dad’s horrible cooking skills. His mom chuckled slightly, a hand on his dad’s shoulder.

It seemed everything had turned out okay despite his worries. Still, Craig nibbled at his lip, confused about his parent’s relationship. Was really everything going to be all fine now? Could his dad really patch things up that easily?

Was there something more to it?

It was relieving, knowing his parents would still stay together, but Craig had no clue if they had actually made the right decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i want to thank you all for reading this! ;_; and of course, tweeksqueak! only one chapter left for this part, then im off to write for season 21!


	21. Fresh new day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to my lovely editor and beta reader tweeksqueak!! <3 pls send them a follow!  
> https://tweeksqueak.tumblr.com/
> 
> Hello! This is my first fanfiction, and I'm really excited to continue this!
> 
> This fic begins in South Park season 19 and follows Tweek and Craig's perspectives throughout the seasons, as well as their relationship.
> 
> If you aren't already, get caught up in season 20 because this chapter is in that season!

Craig sat on the monkey bars, kicking his legs. Around him were his classmates: Kyle, Stan, Kenny, Butters, Token and Clyde. Kyle and Stan were talking together and Clyde hung upside down from the bar. Everything was so  _regular._

Craig had no idea if he should be surprised or not that the day after the Internet reset everything had gone back to normal. All personal data had been wiped clean, so nothing could be traced back to anyone. It was as if Trolltrace had never even happened in the first place.

Cartman came over to them with Heidi in tow. She kissed him on the cheek before leaving to join the other girls across the schoolyard. Cartman groaned and rolled his eyes. He sat down on the ground next to the monkey bars, a cloud of dust rising up from his fat ass hitting the ground. 

“Ugh. Oh my God, guys. That took forever,” Cartman grunted, turning over to them. “It’s like she never stops talking. You get what I mean, right, Craig?”

Craig was taken aback from being called out. Instead of replying to what Cartman asked – which would imply Craig was actually listening – Craig kicked him in the back. Cartman yelped in pain. 

The other boys laughed. Cartman yelled and cursed at them, face turning pink.

In the midst of the laughing Craig realized Wendy was walking towards them, joined by Bebe and Nichole. He raised an eyebrow, turning to Kyle, who immediately perked up and nudged Stan’s shoulder. Stan’s expression changed immediately into one of dismay at the sight of his ex-girlfriend, which made Craig wonder what had happened the day he went to apologize to her. 

The others fell silent when the girls finally reached them. Wendy grimaced, crossing her arms.

But before she could start talking, Cartman blurted out, “What the hell is she doing here?”

Kyle snapped at him, hissing, “Shut it!”

Wendy looked pissed off. Kyle laughed, stiffly.

“What do you want, Kyle?” Wendy demanded.

Oh, so Kyle had called them all over. Great.

“Well, uh… I hope you guys are doing fine after… after the Internet blackout…” Kyle started. 

Craig made a show at rolling his eyes over how awkward he was being. 

“Get to the point, Kyle,” Wendy said with a sharp tone.

“Okay, okay! Look…” Kyle said. He stood up. “I want to put an end to all of this drama and all the tension that’s going on at school.”

Of course, Kyle wanted to be the mediator.

“Ugh. Kyle, it’s basically over” Wendy scoffed. “All those images and everything else is gone anyway. Are we done here?”

“Wait– Wait!” Kyle stammered, raising his hands up. “I wanted to tell you that the troll, Skanthunt, was never one of the students!” 

“So who was it?” Nichole asked.

“It was… my dad,” Kyle grumbled. “He did it as a shitty joke.”

That was surprising. Craig hadn’t expected it. It seemed that he wasn’t the only one, because all his surrounding classmates fell silent.

“So, I want this all to end. It’s nobody's fault any of this happened!” Kyle exclaimed. “Can we just all go back to normal? No more girls vs. boys or whatever?”

Nichole whispered something to Bebe, who got Wendy’s attention by whispering something to her. After a moment, Wendy scoffed.

“I guess. If you guys are calling off the gross ‘movement’ where you pull your dicks out, then we can go back to normal.” 

Kyle sighed in relief. “Thank you, oh my God.”

“So… you guys are going to start talking to us again?” Craig asked, looking only at Wendy. She glared at him, but he didn’t let his gaze waver. “And you know, let us back into group chats?”

“Y-yeah!” Stan piped in. “You’ll call that off too, right?”

“...Maybe. I’ll talk to the other girls.” She looked at Kyle. “I guess no one in this school is bad enough to do something like that to us girls. It had to be some shitty adult,” she reasoned. She gave a fake smile. “We’re outta here,” she declared, turning around. With Nichole and Bebe on her heels, she started to walk back to the other girls.

“Wait up, Wendy!” Stan shouted. He stood up, stumbling as tried to catch up to them.

“Wh– Stan? Where are you going…” Kyle’s voice trailed off and he groaned to himself. “Jesus Christ…”

Craig scoffed, turning to climb further up the monkey bars. He dropped so he hung upside down and narrowly avoided knocking his head with Clyde's.

“Hey, is that Tweek runnin’?” Clyde asked. 

Craig squinted, trying to see what Clyde was looking at. Tweek was running towards them, seemingly anxious about something.

“Oh shit, here comes trouble,” Cartman snickered. 

Craig ignored him. He jumped off the bars, holding his arms out for Tweek who ran into his chest. He was trembling hard. Craig feared that he was having a panic attack.

“What’s wrong, dude? Why are you shaking so badly?” Craig asked, _trying_ to ignore the soft coo from above him. Goddammit, Clyde.

“I– Craig– Oh my– Jesus… I-I was going through Twitter and–” Tweek couldn’t get the words out, clutching his phone tightly. 

Craig held his shoulders, rubbing them softly. “What? What happened? Honey, breathe.”

“L-look at what the President wrote as his first tweet since the reset!” Tweek yelled. He threw the phone at Craig and grabbed his hair tightly in his fists.

Craig read the tweet. “‘Glad to know the Trolltrace building was destroyed along with all the Internet history. Was about to bomb that place like no tomorrow, but it’s good to know Germany can fuck its own ass.’ Oh.”

“How could he say that?! What is he thinking!” Tweek screeched, grabbing Craig’s shoulder and shaking him. “Oh my God, Germany is gonna bomb us and _kill us all because of the President! Aaaaugh!”_

He ran away screaming, leaving Craig dumbfounded with his phone still in his hand.

The other guys were shocked, only Cartman letting out a snort of laughter.

“Oh my God, your boyfriend’s going insane! You should take care of that!”

Now, he usually never listened to what Cartman said because most of the time it was bullshit stacked on top of bullshit covered in even more shit. But today he tugged down his chullo, shoved Tweek’s phone in his pocket, and ran after him.

He had learned that he needed Tweek as much as Tweek needed him. And sometimes, that meant running after him across the schoolyard to make sure Tweek knew that America wasn’t getting bombed over some stupid tweets.

He did this because he loved him. He didn’t fully understand him yet, but he was sure as hell going to try.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HNNNNNNNGH THANK YALL FOR JOINING ME ON THIS RIDE..... THANKS SM FOR TWEEKSQUEAK FOR EDITTING AND HELPING THIS MESS..!!!!!!! IM SO HAPPY TO FINISH IT..... now to s21 lol :p


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